ShareThisBy TIMOTHY McNULTY
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
A booming global economy and worldwide recognition of Andy Warhol's art led to a record $17.38 million sale of one of the artist's paintings this week.
A Hong Kong real estate mogul bought one of Warhol's 1972 "Mao" portraits at Wednesday night's auction at Christie's New York, besting the previous record for one of his works by $50,000. Christie's sold two other Warhol works _ "Orange Marilyn" and "Sixteen Jackies" _ for $16.3 million and $15.7 million, respectively.
Art at those kinds of prices is obviously a major investment, which is why Warhol works are such good sellers, said Tom Sokolowski, director of The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
"For people buying for investment only, and not primarily art lovers, you have a work of art that when you walk into their homes, it's recognizable in terms of visibility and understandability. It's not a work that looks complex, and one of their friends is going to say, 'You paid that for that?' " Sokolowski said.
Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau _ the 451st richest person on earth, according to Forbes _ bought the record-breaking "Mao" painting, which Warhol produced after years of concentrating on filmmaking in the late 1960s.
An assistant to Lau, 54, told Bloomberg News that he bought the painting for his personal use, not for offices of Chinese Estates Holdings, his family business.
In some ways, the sale to the Chinese businessman bodes well for the Warhol Museum, as it is trying to help extend the Warhol name into Asia. It is sending a Warhol show to Korea next year, after sending one to Russia last year, and talks are under way about sending one to China. A new Warhol Museum online educational curriculum is translated into Russian.
The "Mao" sale was beyond Christie's $10 million-$12 million projected sales price, as were those for the two other major Warhol sales. Christie's sold eight Warhol works in all, for a combined $60 million.
Chicago's Richard Gray Gallery bought "Sixteen Jackies" after it was put up for sale by Philadelphia collectors David and Gerry Pincus, who bought it in 1965.
The previous sales record for a Warhol work was $17.33 million for an "Orange Marilyn" portrait in 1998. Adjusting for inflation, that would be more than $200 million today.
