Like much of the rest of the world in 1962, Andy Warhol was fascinated by the actress Marilyn Monroe's August 5 suicide. Unlike nearly anyone else at the time, he very quickly surmised that Monroe would become an even hotter commodity in death than she'd been in life. History has, of course, proved his suspicions to have been right on the money.
Mere days after her death, Warhol purchased a 20th Century Fox Studios publicity still of Monroe that had been taken for the 1953 thriller feature film Niagara. This he cropped, enlarged and reproduced on eight canvases, giving each of the paintings a different color scheme. These (now world famous) Marilyns formed the nucleus of Warhol's first ever solo New York exhibition, organized by Eleanor Ward for the Stable Gallery in 1962. Lemon Marilyn, with its vivid, complementary fuschia, two-tone blue and dual-yellow colors, was a stellar standout in the Marilyns lineup and was purchased from that show's premiere. The painting has been in the same private collection from its 1962 acquisition until being offered at auction in 2007.
Pre-sale estimate: In excess of $18,000,000 (US)
Gavel price + buyer's premium: $28,040,000 (US)
About the event:
Auction: Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale
House: Christie's
Date and time: May 16, 2007 at 7 P.M.
Location: Christie's Galleries at Rockefeller Center, New York