Legend has it … a performance artist named Dorothy Podber went by Andy’s studio — The Factory — and asked if she could “shoot” the paintings. Andy thought she meant with a camera, but she pulled out a gun and fired shots in 4 of the 5 paintings, hitting the image in the forehead. The only one spared was the turquoise one that just sold.
The Marilyn just beat the previous sales record by a mile, and there’s a great story behind this. The record had been held by Brooklyn artist Jean-Michel Basquiat … his skull painting sold for $110 mil in 2017. Jean-Michel and Andy were not only friends … they collaborated on several hundred paintings. Their relationship is part of a fascinating Netflix documentary that just dropped, called “The Andy Warhol Diaries.”
20% of the proceeds are going to the charity of the buyer’s choice … speaking of which, the buyer is art dealer Larry Gagosian.