I Bought Andy Warhol

Hipsters have known it forever, and buyers are catching on: Andy Warhol is the hottest artist around. The Times reports that his sales, including a projected $35 million for a painting at Christie’s next month, are second only to Picasso's. One expert calls Warhol "the most important international artist of the 20th century."

Mass production was key to Warhol's commercial aesthetic, and sheer numbers have driven sales into the Pablo-sphere. Warhol and his "factory" of assistants produced some 100,000 paintings; the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board requires only the eccentric artist's signature, even on a reproduction print, to deem a work authentic. (More Andy Warhol stories.)