Andy Warhol’s “Blue Marilyn” Could Shatter Records at Auction

It could sell for around $200 million

Blue Marilyn
Christie's announcement that they will offer Andy Warhol’s "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" painting of Marilyn Monroe for auction.
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

In 2013, an auction at Sotheby’s set a new record for the sale of a work by Andy Warhol. That would be 1963’s Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster), which sold for $104.5 million. By any standard, that’s an impressive amount.

You’d think so. But this year, another high-profile work by Warhol looks like it will virtually double that record.

Christie’s just announced that Warhol’s 1964 painting Shot Sage Blue Marilyn will be auctioned off in May. As ARTnews reports, it’s estimated to sell for around $200 million.

The image of Monroe used in the painting comes from the 1953 film Niagara, and the painting itself is part of Warhol’s “Shot Marilyns” series, in which the canvases were damaged by a bullet. The painting was acquired by art dealer Thomas Ammann in the 1970s, and it is being sold by the estate of Thomas and his sister Doris; the two spent many years running a prominent gallery until Doris’s death in 2021. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the siblings’ foundation, which will focus on benefiting education and healthcare.

The auction itself will take place in May. What effect could this have on the market for Warhol’s work — and the art market in general? We’ll know soon enough.

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