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Warhol-Mania Takes Over New York
A high-profile auction took place in New York this week which saw works by the iconic artist Andy Warhol sold for a combined total of over $300 million.
At Manhattan’s Rockefeller Centre salesroom on Wednesday, Christie’s auction house held a sale of postwar and contemporary art, culminating in the sale of a 1963-64 Warhol self-portrait for $38.4 million – well over the $30 million high estimate.
The painting, which shows the artist in four photo-booth poses wearing dark glasses and a raincoat, is one of Warhol’s earliest and most recognisable images.
The same night, another Warhol self-portrait, from 1986, was bought by Jose Mugrabi, a Manhattan art dealer, for $27.5 million including fees.
In total, of the 65 works on offer at the auction, only three failed to sell.