Warhol's 'Marilyn' sells at auction for $195 million

STORY: Location: New York

This Andy Warhol 'Marilyn' has sold at auction for $195 million

setting a record for a work by an American artist sold at auction

[Alex Rotter, Chairman of 20th and 21st Century Art / Christie's]

"We did sell the most expensive painting of the 20th century. I'm very proud of that and along with my team, I think everyone is very proud of that. This is a big achievement that is not on me, but just on Warhol and Marilyn. And if you think about, you know, Warhol prices, the Warhol record was at $103 million for the Silver Car Crash. This almost doubled it. And again, 20th-century works of art, American works of art, it's the highest price ever paid, close to $200 million. Let it sink in. It's quite something."

The famed 1964 silk-screen is one in a series of portraits

Warhol made of Marilyn Monroe following her death in 1962

It has since become one of pop art's best-known pieces

‘Shot Sage Blue Marilyn’ sold for a hammer price of $170 million

and an additional $25 million in fees were added to that price