Warhol Coke Piece Sells for a Fizzy $33M

Work sells beyond Sotheby's estimate, capping $222M sale
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 11, 2010 1:40 AM CST
$222M Art Auction Goes Better With Warhol Coke
The man.   (AP Photo/Sotheby's, Andy Warhol)

Recession? What recession? It's apparently not happening in the world of art auctions, where Andy Warhol's Large Coca-Cola went for a fizzy $33 million to cap a $222 million pop art sale at Sotheby's in New York. The auction also included top-selling works by Mark Rothko, Roy Lichtenstein, and Willem de Kooning. "Two things were going on: the iconic classical market and the young market," said Tobias Meyer, head of contemporary art at Sotheby's. "Both benefited from the great depth of bidding in our sale, and resulted in a very strong total."

The Warhol buyer was not revealed, but the work was sold by collector Elizabeth Rae who purchased it with her late husband in 1983 for $143,000. The record for a piece by the artist was set in 2007 when his Green Car Crash went for $71.7 million, reports the Independent. Warhol's The Last Supper sold at the Sotheby's auction for $6.8 million and his Shadows went for $4.2 million.
(More Sothby's stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X