Warhol’s 200 One Dollar Bills went from an opening bid of $6 million to more than seven times that amount.
It was the sale of the season. When a seminal Warhol — one of the artist’s first silk-screen prints — came on the block at Sotheby’s auction of contemporary art on Wednesday night, the auctioneer, Tobias Meyer, opened bidding at $6 million and was stunned when a telephone bidder doubled it instantly. The price rose at break-neck speed as five collectors vied for the classic image of “200 One Dollar Bills.” It ended up selling for $43.7 million (including fees to Sotheby’s), more than three times its high, $12 million estimate. The buyer, whom Sotheby’s refused to identify, bid by telephone through Bruno Vinciguerra, the company’s chief operating officer. – From NY Times