2 min read News

Pieces of Eight: $195m Warhol, "Here's Johnny" and a $900k Card Takes Pole Position.

Pieces of Eight: $195m Warhol, "Here's Johnny" and a $900k Card Takes Pole Position.

🎨  An iconic painting of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol has been auctioned for $195m (£158.17m) - making it the most expensive piece of 20th Century art ever sold.The painting, Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, was painted by Warhol in 1964 using a famous photograph as inspiration.

“The spectacular portrait isolates the person and the star: Marilyn the woman is gone; the terrible circumstances of her life and death are forgotten. All that remains is the enigmatic smile that links her to another mysterious smile of a distinguished lady, the Mona Lisa.”

- Georg Frei, Chairman of the Board, Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation

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Our Take: A wonderful example of shifting and overlapping boundaries between the digital and physical display of Art. Initiatives such as the Degas hologram should become more commonplace as owners and institutions become more sophisticated. We're proponents of any technology which provides greater access to cultural icons, would you like something similar for your Showpiece? Let us know at hello@showpiece.com.

🪓 The famous axe from 'The Shining' horror film is now in the hands of someone else (thankfully) ... cause it just sold for $175K! Dylan Kosinski, of GottaHaveRockandRoll auction house, tells TMZ ... "a successful businessman, who's a big fan of the movie, snagged the axe after winning a bidding war among 12 prospective buyers."

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Our Take: Movie memorabilia struggles to generate the same interest as art and other collectables, but iconic scenes and quotes can change that. Jack Nicholson allegedly improved the line "Here's Johnny" further adding to the legend of the scene.

🏎 Goldin has announced that it has sold a Lewis Hamilton 2020 Topps Chrome Superfractor card for a record $900,000. Hamilton is of course considered one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time, racking up seven world titles as well as holding the record for most wins, pole positions and podium finishes.

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Our Take: Pop culture and real life events could well be the 'driving' force behind this items desirability. The Netflix series “Formula 1: Drive to Survive.” has seemingly had a significant impact on F1's viewing figures, Hamilton's prominence within the sport and recognition as one of the greatest ever drivers - and sportsmen combine to garner huge interest.

That's it for this week, thanks as always for reading and if you have any comments please get in touch via hello@showpiece.com.

The Showpiece Team

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