New York: $ 200 million for a work of art

The auction lasted just four minutes at Christie’s in New York. Andy Warhol’s famous “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” silkscreen, which immortalizes Marilyn Monroe, a Hollywood idol in the 60’s, was offered to those interested with a starting price of around 100 million dollars. Within seconds the price jumped to 130 million. Mobile phones caught fire as attendees constantly talked to “strong” customers who were not in the room. Maybe they wanted to remain anonymous.

Exactly $ 170 million was the last offer for one of the most characteristic works of pop art. If we take into account the fees of intermediaries and other similar fees and services, the final sale price is set at 195 million euros. And so Warhol’s “Marilyn” now holds the record for the most expensive work of art of the 20th century. To date, this distinction has accompanied Pablo Picasso’s painting “Women of Algeria”, which changed hands at auction in 2015 for $ 179.4 million. In the same category is the nude “Nu couche” by Montigliani, which was sold in November 2015 for 170 million dollars. “Marilyn” went up for auction in New York at the behest of the Swiss Thomas and Doris Aman Foundation based in Zurich, which announced that it would donate all proceeds to charity.

Warhol “doubles” his record

“We have sold the most expensive work of the 20th century,” says Alex Rother, Christie’s CEO. “My co-workers and I are proud. If you think about it, the record for Warhol’s work was € 193 million for Silver Car Crash. Today the amount doubles, it is a record for a 20th century work, but also for an American work artist “. The buyer remains unknown. Some of those present in the hall said that the final offer came from the well-known American collector Larry Gagosian. Gagosian is also said to have sold the work to Swiss collector Thomas Aman in 1986.

An emblematic pop art artist, Andy Warhol became famous in the 1950s with the help of Greek collector Alexandros Iolas and managed to live up to his fame before he died in 1987. “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” was made in 1964, two years after the tragic death of Marilyn Monroe at her home in Los Angeles. It is based on a promotional photo from the movie “Niagara” which premiered in January 1953, causing excitement among critics of the New York Times.

Offers from all over the world

“From the first data we have we see that 45% of the offers came from America, 45% from Europe, the Middle East and “Africa, while the remaining 10% from Asia”, he points out. “This means that the market is resilient. Demand remains strong, although it is too early to know the details.”

Auctions of 20th century works will continue very soon. According to the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, Sotheby’s will soon hold the second auction of the Macklowe collection, which includes works by Mark Rothko, Gerhard Richter and Willem de Kooning. Pablo Picasso’s masterpiece “Femme nue couchee” will be looking for a new buyer at an upcoming auction of the house.

Giannis Papadimitriou (AP, NZZ, SZ)

Source: Deutsche Welle