“200 One Dollar Bills” sells for $43.8 Million
Andy Warhol’s silk screen depiction of 200 one dollar bills sold this Wednesday November 11, 2009 for a record 43,762,500 USD. According to Bloomberg, this is almost one hundred times the price the seller paid for the piece in 1986 ($385,000).
Andy Warhol's "200 One Dollar Bills" (1962), 80¼ x 92¼ inches. Courtesy of Sotheby's
To some, last night’s auction results ($134.4 million v. the high estimate of $97.7 million) signaled that the art market slump might finally be over. Skeptics will say that better than estimated sales are mostly due to lowered expectations. Regardless, the willingness for the ultra wealthy to spend $134.4 million on art at Sotheby’s (an increase in sales from this time last year of $125.1 million) signals, at the very least, that the affluent are more comfortable parting with their money.
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