“A beautiful child”: Warhol’s Marilyn sells for $195 million at Christie’s

Andy Warhol’s “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” has been auctioned for $195 million at Christie’s, an auction record for a 20th century painting, although somewhat below its pre-sale expectations.

By G. Fernández · theartwolf.com · Image: Andy Warhol, Shot Sage Blue Marilyn (1964) © Andy Warhol / Artists Rights Society, New York

Marilyn: Remember, I said if anybody ever asked you what I was like, what Marilyn Monroe was really like—well, how would you answer them? (Her tone was teaseful, mocking, yet earnest, too: she wanted an honest reply.) I bet you’d tell them I was a slob. A banana split.

Truman Capote: Of course. But I’d also say…

(The light was leaving. She seemed to fade with it, blend with the sky and clouds, recede beyond them. I wanted to lift my voice louder than the seagulls’ cries and call her back: Marilyn! Marilyn, why did everything have to turn out the way it did? Why does life have to be so rotten?)

Truman Capote: I’d say…

Marilyn: I can’t hear you.

Truman Capote: I’d say you are a beautiful child.

Truman Capote

Everything suggested that this would be a historic auction.

The collection of Thomas and Doris Ammann featured a remarkable selection of contemporary art, including artists such as Cy Twombly and Alberto Giacometti, but all eyes were on a single work, which -with a presale estimated in the region of $200 million– was set to break all auction records for a 20th century painting: Andy Warhol’s “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn“, one of his four “shot” Marilyns, four canvases showing the iconic image of Marilyn Monroe -that “beautiful child“- in the promotional poster for the film “Niagara”, which were shot by performance artist Dorothy Podber (1932-2008) at the legendary “The Factory” in Manhattan.

In a smart move, Christie’s decided that the Marilyn would be the last lot offered at the auction, thus preventing the works offered after it from being ignored, as might have been the case. Directed by Jussi Pylkkänen, the auction got off to an unbeatable start, with one of Mike Bidlo‘s “Picassian” paintings selling for $1.26 million, and Francisco Clemente‘s “The Fourteen Stations, No. XI” fetching $1.86 million, in both cases about 15 times their most optimistic pre-sale estimate. Even more striking was the case of Ann Craven‘s “I Wasn’t Sorry“, which sold for $680,400 against a pre-sale estimate of between $20,000 and $30,000. These surprisingly high prices for artists active in recent decades were more reminiscent of the recent contemporary art auctions in Hong Kong than the usually more “predictable” New York sales.

Cy Twombly‘s “Venere Sopra Gaeta” sold for $17 million, in line with Christie’s pre-sale estimate. An untitled abstraction by Robert Ryman sold for $20.1 million, slightly above its estimate. As a prologue to the Marilyn, “Flowers” (another painting by Andy Warhol, also painted in 1964), fetched $15.8 million, not far from its most conservative pre-sale estimate.

20:35 local time. The big moment arrives. Andy Warhol’s “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn“, which had been placed behind Pylkkänen throughout the auction as a reminder of what was to come, finally comes up for auction. The auction started at $100 million, and quickly climbed to $170 million, raising the prospect of it exceeding its pre-sale estimate. But surprisingly, no higher bid came in despite Pylkkänen’s best efforts to attract interest from buyers. Counting commissions, the final sale price was $195 million, which is, objectively speaking, a success, as it is an auction record for a 20th-century painting. Nevertheless, and perhaps because of the enormous expectations generated prior to the auction, there was a certain taste of disappointment.

On a personal note, the sale confirms my idea that, absurd as it may seem, “orange” and “red” Marilyns are far more attractive to the market than those with blue (and of course grays) backgrounds (remember that “Shot Orange Marilyn” was sold privately for more than $200 million in 2018). In any case, the sale provides interesting information for our list of the most valuable paintings in private hands, and we will work to keep it up to date.