An iconic art work of Marilyn Monroe by pop art legend Andy Warhol has become the most expensive 20th-century artwork ever to go under the hammer.
The "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn sold for a record $195 million at Christie's in New York Monday evening. Originally a publicity still from Marilyn's 1953 movie "Niagara", Warhol's colorful reproductions of Monroe's photo portrait are among his most recognizable works.
The previous auction record for a 20th-century painting was the $179.4 million paid for Pablo Picasso's "Les Femmes d'Alger (Version O)" in 2015. At $195 million it tops Warhol's last prized auction by a margin. The auction record for a Warhol work was previously held by "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) which was sold for more than $105 million almost a decade ago