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."

Has Dog’s Playing Poker or Velvet Elvis run the course in your home? Then you’re in luck, because it’s time to upgrade with a nude painting of Madonna with her ex-husband Guy Ritchie.

I know ... nude Madonna? Isn’t that the equivalent of bright sun or wet rain? Not exactly a shocker. But it was this story or something about Mexico approving bidding rules for wireless auctions.

Artist Peter Howson’s controversial depiction of the former couple in oil was painted in 2005. It is expected to fetch up to $35,000 when it goes under the hammer at the McTear’s Scottish Contemporary Art Auction in Glasgow on Saturday from a private collector. Howson has produced several portraits of the pop icon in a state of undress.

The painting depicts a very manly Madonna being groped by Ritchie who looks more like a cross between Mike Tyson and Vinnie Jones (X-Men: The Last Stand and The Midnight Meat Train). If checking out Madonna in the buff is your thing, save a few dollars and the Tums you’ll need to chew after viewing the painting, and grab a copy of her 1992 Sex book that features a little bit of everything except Ritchie.

The Material Girl and director behind Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes ended their almost 8-year marriage in November 2008.

UPDATED: 6.2.09 Failed to sell. 

The Art by Animals 2 charity auction benefiting AZA is being postponed. Originally slated to take place at Busch Gardens (Tampa, Fla.) on March, 28, the auction is now being moved out to late spring or early summer.

The auction will feature unique art created by animals in zoos from across the United States. The sale of these one-of-a-kind pieces created by chimps, hyenas, penguins and other animals funds animal enrichment programs at zoos and aquariums across America.