Andy Warhol at Christies, 2007

Andy Warhol
Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I), 1963
Estimated. $25 – 35 millones

Photo courtesy of Christie’s

Nooo, Andy, nooooo! – Warhol is a 20th century icon as shown in “The Simpsons”

Andy Warhol at Christies, 2007 Andy Warhol takes the Art Market: Christie’s to auction 10 works by Pop-Art legend Andy Warhol including the Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car)]]>

May 2007, Source: Christie’s
The Art market is in full bloom. After the ultra-successful sales of works such as Jackson Pollock’s “Number 5” for an astonishing $140 million, or the $137.5 million paid for Willem de Kooning’s “Woman III” – both at private sales – the auction houses are ready to turn their Contemporary Art sales into the most spectacular Art events of the year. And when you talk about Art and Spectacle, you talk about Andy Warhol.

This year Christie’s has displayed a spectacular group of works by the American pop-Art legend Andy Warhol to be offered at its Post-war and Contemporary Art sale next May 16 th 2007. A total of 10 works by Warhol will be offered at the auction, some of them for astronomical prices, placing Warhol at the pinnacle of the most sought-after contemporary artists.

The most important work in the auction is Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I) from his seminal Death and Disaster series, considered by Christie’s as “the most important work by Warhol ever to appear at auction”. With a pre-sale estimate of $25 – 35 million, Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I) is expected to far exceed the previous record for the artist which was established at Christie’s New York in November 2006 when Warhol’s iconic Mao , 1972 was purchased for $17.4 million

“Lemon Marilyn” is an important portrait of the cinema myth Marilyn Monroe executed in 1962. The work has an “estimate on request”. Two other important works by Andy Warhol are ” Miriam Davidson” (1965, estimate: $4 – 6 million) and a ” Self-portrait” (1966-67, estimate: $5.5 – 6.5 million). Together, the ten works by Warhol are expected to realize in excess of $65 million.

Mark Rothko’s Untitled, 1954 (estimate: $20 – 25 million) and Untitled, 1961 (estimate: $14 – 18 million) will also be offered in this sale. With a record $225 to $300 million pre-sale estimate, this sale is expected to break new auction records and elevate the price-structures for several artists.