A portrait of the actress Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol was auctioned on May 9th for 195 million dollars (approximately one billion reais) in New York, in the United States. Thus, it has become the most expensive artwork of the 20th century. It took only four minutes for the bid to reach this amount and surpass the previous record held by _ e Women of Algiers painting by Spaniard Pablo Picasso, sold for 179.4 million dollars in 2015.

The work painted by Warhol in 1964, titled Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, is one meter tall by one meter wide. The painting is part of a series of four paintings Warhol made of Marilyn after she died in 1962. The series was named shot after someone who visited Warhol’s studio shot the portraits, which were restored later. Each portrait features a different combination of colors. The series is deemed an icon of pop art.

Who was Andy Warhol?

Born Andrew Warhola in 1928, in the USA, he was a painter, filmmaker, photographer, music producer, and graphic designer. He is considered the greatest representative of the pop art movement. Warhol died in 1987.

Who was Marilyn Monroe?

Norma Jeane Mortenson was born in 1926, in the USA. Marilyn was an actress, model, and singer. She was a Hollywood movie star and to this day is considered one of the biggest icons of popular culture in the world. She died in 1962.

Glossary

Pop art: an artistic movement created in the 1950s in the United Kingdom that became popular in the following decade in the USA. It portrays popular and consumer culture items, which include celebrities and soft drinks, using intense colors and the aesthetic we often see in advertising. One of its goals was to bring art closer to people’s everyday lives.

Sources: Correio Braziliense, Folha de S.Paulo, G1, Guia das Artes, and Itaú Cultural

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