Avedon portrait of Marilyn fetches four times the estimate

You have to hand it to her: 45 years after her death, Marilyn Monroe still has the power. A portrait of the actress (above left) by Richard Avedon, included in The First Post's preview of American photography on sale in Manhattan this week, went for $380,000 - almost four times its upper estimate of $70,000 - when the hammer came down at Sotheby's New York.

The ultra-naturalistic portrait, taken in May 1957 in New York City, was part of the Quillan collection of 19th and 20th century photographs which fetched a total of $8.9m, far exceeding the pre-sale estimate of $4.6m. The sale set records for 19 photographers, including Avedon.

Other photographs included in The First Post's special preview which easily beat their estimates were Robert Frank's 'Mississippi River' which fetched $205,000, nearly triple its high estimate of $70,000, and Dorothea Lange's 'San Francisco Waterfront', which sold for sold for $289,000, four times its upper estimate. (Continued below)

Today the attention moves to Christie's where the nude photo of France's new First Lady, Carla Bruni (above right) which caused controversy on the eve of President Sarkozy's recent trip to London, will go on sale. The photo by Michel Comte is one of 140 images included in the sale of the Gert Elfering collection. Carla's pre-sale estimate is $3,000 to $4,000, but it seems anything is possible in New York this week.