Andy Warhol’s Scandinavian Beauty II sold for 16.8 million SEK
The painting Scandinavian Beauty II (1977) by Andy Warhol was sold during this evening’s live auction Contemporary Art & Design at Bukowskis for 16 775 000 SEK. The result places the work among the highest-priced Warhol portraits on the Nordic market and surpasses the 2011 sale of the sister painting Scandinavian Beauty.
The work, which had an estimate of 10–12 million SEK, was offered at auction for the first time and comes with a unique Swedish connection.
The story behind Scandinavian Beauty II begins in the autumn of 1976, when the portrait commission was initiated in connection with Warhol’s visit to Stockholm during an exhibition at Galerie Nova. There, a spontaneous photo session took place with the Swedish model whom Warhol came to call his “Scandinavian Beauty.”
After the session, an unexpected opportunity arose when Warhol had a free evening in Stockholm, leading to an impromptu tour of the city’s nightlife together with the model. They later met again by chance in New York, and when Warhol eventually completed the work in his New York studio, the original commission had taken on a more personal dimension. He therefore chose to create not just one, but two paintings.
The sister work Scandinavian Beauty was sold at a notable auction at Bukowskis in 2011, achieving a final price of 12.1 million SEK.
“Scandinavian Beauty II is a remarkable work with a unique Swedish connection, and the sale represents yet another significant result for a Warhol piece on the Nordic art market. Bukowskis continues to deliver sales at the highest level.”
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