Shot Sage Blue Marilyn by Andy Warhol

The work “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” by Andy Warhol, created in 1964, is an emblematic screenprint distinguished by its bold chromatic combination and the technical refinement characteristic of the artist’s production during this period.

Warhol employed the technique of screen printing to reproduce the image of Marilyn Monroe, a process he perfected in the early 1960s and which would become one of the defining hallmarks of his oeuvre. The portrait is dominated by a sage-blue tone that imparts a serene yet sophisticated atmosphere, set in striking contrast to the graphic intensity of the face. The English term “Shot” functions here as a wordplay, meaning both “gunshot” and “photographic shot.” On the one hand, it refers to the photographic origin of the image; on the other, it alludes to an incident that occurred in the artist’s studio, known as The Silver Factory, where in 1964 the artist Dorothy Podber fired a gun at several of these screenprints. This piece forms part of a series of five versions of the same portrait, each distinguished by different chromatic combinations.

Inscribed within Pop Art, the work embodies the movement’s inherent ambivalence: it both celebrates and questions mass culture and the construction of celebrity as a consumable icon. Warhol would establish himself as one of the foremost exponents of this current. In 2022, this version was auctioned by Christie’s for 195 million US dollars, becoming one of the most expensive works ever sold at auction.