Andy Warhol’s 1964 silk-screen portrait of Marilyn Monroe fetched a cool $195 million at a Christie’s auction on Monday night, becoming the most expensive work of American art ever to go under the hammer. “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn,” one of a series of images of Monroe the artist created, was sold to dealer Larry Gagosian after he warred with at least three other bidders for roughly four minutes, according to The Wall Street Journal. Christie’s had previously said it had estimated bids “in the region of” $200 million for the portrait. Among his most recognizable works, the print is one of five “Shot Marilyns,” which skyrocketed into art infamy after artist Dorothy Podber asked Warhol if she could “shoot” the silk-screens in his studio. He agreed, thinking she’d pull out a camera. Instead, Podber whipped out a gun and fired a shot at the portraits, stacked against a wall. “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” was one of the works undamaged by the bullet. The Warhol is also the most expensive 20th-century artwork ever to be sold and is the second-most expensive publicly sold piece in history, after Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” went to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince for $450 million in 2017.
