We've heard plenty of stories of Warhol paintings being sold for ridiculous sums of money at auction, but yesterday a damaged one was sold at Christie's for $302,500, more than 10x the amount estimated by experts. Of course, it doesn't hurt that it was owned and damaged by beloved late actor Dennis Hopper, which has given the painting a drug-addled backstory for the ages.
Hopper shot two bullets through the Warhol portrait of Chairman Mao, which had been estimated to be worth between $20,000 and $30,000 According to Alex Hitz, a family friend and estate trustee, "One night in the shadows, Dennis, out of the corner of his eyes, saw the Mao, and he was so spooked by it that he got up and shot at it twice, putting two bullet holes in it." Hopper later showed the bullet holes to Warhol, who drew circles around them, labeling the one over Mao's right shoulder "warning shot" and the one at his left eyelid "bullet hole." Warhol even declared Hopper a collaborator on the piece. The whole story has us so inspired, we've vowed to get Nick Nolte to grace our artwork with his combustible personality before we put it up for auction.
