«GOOD BUSINESS IS THE BEST ART»

NEW YORK — Pop art mainstay Roy Lichtenstein's painting "Ohhh... Alright..." has sold at Christie's in New York for a record 42.6 million dollars. The oil and magna on canvas, painted in 1964, set a new high for the much sought-after artist, whose previous record price was 16.2 million dollars back in 2005. The cartoon-style painting, featuring a close-up of a beautiful young woman holding a telephone and saying in a speech bubble, "Ohhh... Alright...," went to an anonymous phone bidder, Christie's said. "'Ohhh...Alright...' characterizes the Lichtenstein's captivation and inspiration with techniques of commercial printing and reproduction articulated in his signature Ben-Day dots," Christie's said. The sale was the star of the contemporary auction held at Christie's the day after rival Sotheby's sold an Andy Warhol painting titled "Large Coca Cola" for 35.3 million dollars.Christie's hotly anticipated sale of another Andy Warhol, "Big Campbell's Soup Can with Can Opener (Vegetable)," proved a disappointment. It had been expected to sell for between 30 and 50 million dollars, but eventually went for 23.8 million dollars.

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