Warhol's famed 'Marilyn' work sells for record

Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is one in a series of portraits Andy Warhol made of the actress following...
Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is one in a series of portraits Andy Warhol made of the actress following her death and is one of pop art's best-known pieces. Photo: Reuters
Pop artist Andy Warhol's famed 1964 silk-screen portrait of Marilyn Monroe has sold for a record amount for a work by an American artist at auction.

Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is one in a series of portraits Warhol made of the actress following her death in 1962 and has since become one of pop art's best-known pieces.

Held in the collection of Swiss art dealers Thomas and Doris Ammann, it was sold by Christie's at an auction in New York.

The painting sold for a hammer price of $US170 million ($NZ269 million)  on Monday. Added fees gave it a final price of $US195 million ($NZ309 million).

Pre-sale estimates had reached as high as $US200 million.

The sale broke the previous record for an American artwork at auction of $110.5 million set in 2017 for a 1982 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat.

"Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is the absolute pinnacle of American Pop," Alex Rotter, chairman of 20th and 21st Century art at Christie's, said in a statement announcing the auction.

"The painting transcends the genre of portraiture, superseding 20th century art and culture."

The painting is built on a promotional photo of Monroe from the 1953 film Niagara, screened with bright colours over her eyes, hair and lips.

Its title refers to an incident in which a woman shot at a stack of four Marilyn portraits in Warhol's studio with a pistol, although Shot Sage Blue Marilyn was not struck by a bullet.

Monroe was one of Hollywood's best-known stars before her death of an overdose at her home in Los Angeles on August 4, 1962.

Warhol died in 1987.