Andy Warhol’s Portrait of Marilyn Monroe May Sell For a New World Record

Art + AuctionsAndy Warhol’s Portrait of Marilyn Monroe May Sell For a New World RecordAfter Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi sold for more than four times its estimate, Warhol’s work is poised to break a major record

By Jessica Cherner

March 23, 2022

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Andy Warhol, in 1986, standing before one of his paintings.Photo: Getty Images/Francois Lochon

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With the emergence of TikTok and Instagram, people transforming themselves into brands isn’t breaking glass ceilings, but back in the 1960s when The Beatles, Jackie Onassis, and Andy Warhol were considered royalty, it was revolutionary. In fact, Warhol is arguably as famous now as he was when he debuted his iconic Campbell’s Soup Cans in 1962. Like The Beatles, Warhol’s legacy is transcendent. And, like artists who essentially invented a new style of art—Picasso’s Cubism, Breton’s Surrealism, and Monet’s Impressionism—Warhol and his prolific collection of Pop that challenges society’s archaic hierarchy is infinitely more valuable today. Case in point: Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, one of Warhol’s iconic portraits, is expected to sell for no less than $200 million at Christie’s. And, come May, it may even be the most expensive work of art sold at auction.

Andy Warhol’s famous Marilyn Monroe portrait, dubbed Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, is expected to sell at a Christie’s auction for no less than $200 million.

Photo: Christie’s Images Ltd. 2022

“This painting is the absolute pinnacle of Pop. Not only is it definitive within Warhol’s oeuvre, but within contemporary art and the entire art historical canon,” explains Johanna Flaum, Christie’s international director, head of post-war and contemporary art. “This May, Christie’s Spring Marquee Week will be the first time in a quarter-century that a 40-inch Marilyn canvas by Warhol has come to auction, presenting collectors with a rare opportunity.” The iconic image, which is one in a limited series of just five Marilyn portraits that Warhol painted throughout the summer of 1964, is a masterpiece, to say the least.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the most expensive work of art sold at auction if it does sell at the price it’s projected to. That title would still belong to Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which sold in 2017 for $450.3 million. Da Vinci’s painting was expected to sell, however, for $100 million. So, if Warhol’s famed Marilyn follows the same pattern, it very well could steal Da Vinci’s world title.

“There are two parts of the art world: the scholarly part comprised of museums and historians, and the commercial world ruled by dealers and auction houses,” notes Patrick Moore, director of the Andy Warhol Museum. “They are not mutually exclusive—especially with an artist like Warhol, who was obsessed with money. So, a record sale like this mostly benefits the commercial world, but the reason a record sale happens is that a museum like ours spends every day making sure that Warhol remains relevant and fresh.” Ironically, falling out of vogue and being forgotten were two of Warhol’s greatest fears.

Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which sold at auction for a record $450.3 million, is currently the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction. Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn may break that record. 

Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images

The piece will be sold by the Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation in Zürich. The Ammann siblings founded their eponymous gallery, which displayed a vast collection of blue-chip art since 1977, but after both siblings died (Thomas in 1993, and Doris in 2021), the gallery has since been transformed into a philanthropic foundation. Doris adamantly didn’t want to leave a museum behind but rather a legacy famous for helping people. The potentially record-breaking profits from Shot Sage Blue Marilyn will be donated to charities benefiting children and medical research.

About 40 years ago, Ammanns bought the painting from Condé Nast executive and famed art collector S.I. Newhouse, who, at the time, already owned one of the Marilyn portraits—the fiery orange one—in Warhol’s summer series. He bought it for $17.3 million, a steep price considering it was estimated to sell for $6 million. And the price had only gone up from there. After Newhouse died in 2017, billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin bought the orange Marilyn in a private sale for around $200 million.

Warhol’s impressively large collection of Marilyn Monroe prints hangs throughout museums worldwide, including the British Museum.

Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Flaum adds, “In terms of the painting itself, there is a hugely precedential part of Andy Warhol. His seriality and practice spoke to the effect of mass media and the power in the proliferation of imagery. This sale truly represents the timelessness of Andy Warhol, bringing his art full circle into the realm of pop culture.” Warhol, who was obsessed with the idea of constant relevance, would certainly be thrilled at the legacy he left behind. What’s more: If the painting ends up selling for more than Da Vinci’s did in 2017, he’ll be sure to continue making waves in our culture for decades to come.

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