This is the work ‘Shot Sage Blue Marilyn’, created by the creator of Pop Art in 1964, which sold for 184 million
A portrait of Marilyn Monroe by artist Andy Warhol has sold at auction for €184 million ($195 million), making it the most expensive work of the 20th century. It is ‘Shot Sage Blue Marilyn’ made by the creator of the so-called Pop Art, in 1964.
Prior to the auction, it was estimated that the work could fetch $200 million, as it is the star of the auction season that kicked off this week in New York, according to Christie’s on its website. Warhol’s iconic 1×1 meter work is part of a series of portraits the artist made of Monroe after his death in 1962.
The record for a 20th-century work is held by Pablo Picasso’s “The Women of Algiers,” which grossed $179.4 million in 2015. Warhol’s most expensive work to date is ‘Silver Car Crash’ (Double Disaster), which was paid 104.5 million in 2013.
Andy Warhol insisted on downplaying himself as an artist. He made no images. He looted them from the media, from advertisements and from the objects of the consumer society, even though he gave them a recognizable treatment at first sight. What was valuable was in fame and money, not in superficial things like his own painting. “There’s no meaning behind it,” he repeated. However, since his death in 1987, museums and the art trade have not stopped spoiling both his figure and his industrial production in his studio, The Factory. There are some 8,000 registered works to which their authorship can be attributed and each of them is increasing in value.
This work, entitled ‘Shot Blue Sage Marilyn’, measures approximately one meter by one meter and is part of a series of five copies in different colours. What makes this 1964 Marilyn so special? First, the subject of the portrait, the American actress, the artist’s fetish. “No, I don’t think I represent any of the ‘sex symbols’ of our time. She’s beautiful, that’s all,” Warhol said of his fondness for Marilyn Monroe.
No, it wasn’t quite true. The painter of the stars and the rich, for a fee, was also an author of tragedies, as evidenced by his series of car accidents and electric chairs.
Marilyn was much more than a body. He represented the B side of fame and money. The beloved woman suffered from gender violence and committed suicide with barbiturates in 1962. Everything is set in the background of the work being auctioned today, based on the publicity of the film ‘Niagara’.
In addition, the painting is a work recording and there are not many in history within this category. Actor Dorothy Podber visited The Factory, saw the series and asked Warhol if she could “shoot.” ‘Shoot’ in English is used to shoot both a gun and a camera. It didn’t even occur to the artist that Podger could shoot with a bullet. But he did, trying to pierce the eyebrows, according to the Factory Billy Name “fix.”
Only one of the five frames was left without a bullet mark. The painter with the albino wig repaired the rest. But apart from the damage, the event retains a high symbolic value, and thus monetary. He too was shot at the Factory in 1968, leaving him on the brink of death. Warhol and Marilyn united by gunshot wounds: a charming story for wealthy collectors.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
