It became the most expensive 20th-century work of art ever sold at public auction. A famous portrait of Marilyn Monroe by American pop art master Andy Warhol was sold for 195 million dollars (184 million euros) in New York on the evening of Monday May 9. Shot Sage Blue Marilyna painting executed in 1964, two years after the tragic death of the glamorous Hollywood icon, went in four minutes, in a crowded room at the headquarters of Christie’s, during the spring auction launch party.
Painted with silkscreen ink and acrylic, Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is one of five one meter by one meter portraits of vivid, saturated and contrasting colors that the New York artist made in 1964 from a photo for the promotion of the film niagara in 1953. Pink face, blond hair and pronounced lipstick, the actress reveals an enigmatic smile, on a turquoise blue background.
Dozens of Christie’s intermediaries were present, hanging on their phones to take orders from buyers. But it is from the room, where the work was enthroned, that the last offer left, victorious. According to several auction specialists present on the spot, it came from the American art dealer Larry Gagosian, owner of the galleries of the same name, but it was not known whether he was acting on his behalf or that of a client. Christie’s, owned by the very large French fortune François Pinault, did not wish to comment on the buyer.
Shot Sage Blue Marilyn did not reach the $200 million estimate put forward by Christie’s before the sale. This does not prevent him from beating the previous record for a 20th century work at auction, Women of Algiers (version 0) by Pablo Picasso, sold for 179.4 million dollars (169 million euros) in May 2015. But the absolute record, all periods combined, remains held by the Salvador Mundi, awarded to Leonardo da Vinci, auctioned in November 2017 for 450.3 million dollars (425 million euros).