American Artist Warhol’s Painting Sells for Record Price

“We are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle.” – Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was an iconic star in the 1950s and 1960s. An actress and singer, Monroe was widely known and recognized around the world. Recently, a painting of her, created by famous artist Andy Warhol, sold at auction for a record-breaking amount of money. A photograph of the American beauty inspired the painting named Shot Sage Blue Marilyn.

Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, Sold!

The famous 1964 Warhol painting of Marilyn Monroe sold at auction this month for an unprecedented $195 million! No picture by an American artist has ever sold for that much money. The artwork was sold at a Christie’s auction house in New York.

Christie’s is known for selling luxury items with high price tags. Before the auction took place, Christie’s shared that the artwork is “one of the rarest and most transcendent images in existence.” The buyer, Larry Gagosian, is an American art dealer with galleries across the US, Asia, and Europe.

Holding the earlier selling record for an American piece is a painting of a skull, created by Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1982. His work sold for $110.5 million in 2017.

The money collected will be donated to the Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation out of Zurich, Switzerland. This charity, run by siblings, helps provide health care and educational programs for children worldwide.

The chairman of the foundation board, George Frei, had this to say about the sale of the iconic Monroe painting: “Marilyn the woman is gone … All that remains is the enigmatic smile that links her to another mysterious smile of a distinguished lady, the Mona Lisa.”

Who Was Andy Warhol?

Born on August 6, 1928, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Andy Warhol became the leading man in the visual art movement of the 1960s. Warhol was an American artist, film director, and producer. He began his career as a commercial illustrator, which led him to pursue other artistic projects.

His New York studio became known as “The Factory.” Celebrities and other wealthy and creative people were often found spending time there. His work encompassed a range of art forms, from films to book writing. He even produced an up-and-coming rock band.

Warhol was one of the first Americans to try the method of silk-screen printing, which made it easier to mass-produce images. This started the trend of t-shirts with pictures printed on the front – something people wear all across the US today! Warhol died in February of 1987, but his work is still making an impact.

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