NY auction of Warhol works fetches over $17M

The Associated Press, Monday, November 12, 2012, 6:34pm (PST)

NEW YORK (AP) — The first in a series of live and online auctions to raise money for the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York has collected over $17 million.

Monday's auction at Christie's featured works by Warhol ranging from prints to photographs, some of which have not been seen by the public.

The top sale was "Endangered Species: San Francisco Silverspot," a print that fetched over $1.2 million. Other highlights included "Jackie," a screen print and paper collage of Jacqueline Kennedy that sold for over $626,000. That's more than double its high estimate of $300,000.

The foundation says the money raised for its endowment from the sales would allow it to expand support of the visual arts, fulfilling Warhol's purpose in establishing it.

Online auctions will begin in February.