A painting by pop artist Andy Warhol, "200 One Dollar
Bills," brought $43.8 million at auction, more than three times its
highest presale estimate of $12 million.
The piece, one of Warhol's first silk-screen paintings, sold
at Sotheby's on Nov. 11, 2009. The auction house did not reveal the names of
the buyer and seller.
Bidding for the seminal work was spirited and fast.
Auctioneer Tobias Meyer opened bidding at $6 million, which was immediately
doubled. Five more people in the room jumped in, competing until a phone bidder
was declared the winner.
The current record for a Warhol is $71.7 million for
"Green Car Crash, sold at Christie's in 2007.
Executed in 1962, the painting was once owned by taxi tycoon
Robert C. Scull, who purchased it directly from Warhol's dealer. The current
owner bought it in 1986 for $385,000.
It was the highest price fetched at the Contemporary Art
sale, which totaled $134.4 million, well above the high presale total of $97.7
million.
Other Warhol paintings also drew strong prices.
His 1965 "Self-Portrait," which the artist gave to
Cathy Naso, a receptionist who worked at his Factory, sold for $6.1 million. It
had been estimated to sell for $1 million to $1.5 million. Naso, who attended
the auction, was 19 years old when Warhol gave her the painting inscribed to
her. She displayed it briefly and then stored it in a closet, where it remained
until this year.
"I think I am dreaming," Naso said. "Andy has
made me famous for 15 minutes and I've come to realize that 15 minutes of fame
is more than enough."
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