In the fall 1964, Warhol had created a series of 5 "Marilyn" canvases 40”x40” (red, orange, light blue, sage blue, and turquoise). The artist Dorothy Podber, a friend of Factory photographer Billy Name, came to the Warhol’s studio and asked him if she could shoot them.

 

Warhol, understanding “photo shoot” agreed, and she fired into a stack of 4 "Marilyn" paintings. Warhol was very upset and banned her from the factory. Since two of the canvases were really damaged, he decided to repair them and named the series The Shot Marilyns.

For Dorothy Podber, this was an act of performance art. The irony of the story is she out-Warholed him and The Shot Marilyns remain their joint works.

 

Warhol, had posthumous cause to be grateful to her. In 1989, Shot Red Marilyn went for $4m, the highest price ever paid for one of his pictures at the time. In 1998, Shot Orange Marilyn, sold for $17.3 million.

 

 

Sources:

Warhol: The Biography, Victor Bockris, 2003

The Genius of Andy Warhol Pop by Tony Sherman and David Dalton