4

The present report surveys Andy Warhol’s Mao paintings (1972-1973) auction market from

January 2004 to December 2023. Given that the value of the US$ changes over time and

that US$1 in 2004 is not equivalent to US$1 in 2023, the prices mentioned in this report have

been adjusted for inf lation using the December 2023 US CPI-U index (consumer price index)

unless stated otherwise. This method allows us to reasonably compare auction sales data over

20 years by adding the ef fects of price inf lation on all such prices from their sale to December

2023. Sales prices include buyer’s premium, but pre-sale estimates do not.

Repeat sales were considered when one of the occurrences took place after January 1, 2004.

Where there are several repeat sales for an artwork, the CAGR is calculated between every

occurrence. The information contained in this report has been analysed by ArtExplored and is

based on ArtExplored proprietary data. Sales details for these works can be found in the annex

at the end of this report.

LIST OF TERMS USED IN THIS REPORT:

Lots of fered: Artworks of fered for sale at auction.

Lots sold: Artworks successfully sold at auction.

Sell-through rate: The percentage of lots sold compared to the number of lots of fered.

Average price: The mean price of the lots sold.

Repeat sales: The number of times that an artwork was resold at auction. If an artwork was sold

twice, it counts as one repeat sale. If it was sold three times, it counts as two repeat sales, etc.

CAGR: The Compound Annual Growth Rate is the annualized average rate of return achieved

by an artwork over a specif ic holding period. It can be calculated when there are repeat sales

involved.

Average CAGR: The mean CAGR achieved by all repeat sales.

Pre-sale estimates: The price range within which a lot is expected to sell at auction. It is

communicated by the auction house prior to a sale but is often not publicly disclosed for higher-

value artworks. (e.g. $20M - $40M)

Presale midestimate The average of the low and high estimates eg 30M

Price to midestimate ratio The relation between a the achieved auction sale price and b

the presale midestimate This ratio expresses as a percentage the dif ference between the

auction sale price and the presale midestimate of a work over its presale midestimate

It serves as an indicator of the extent to which a sale price has exceeded or fallen short of its

estimate

eg Sales price Presale midestimate Presale midestimate Price to midestimate

ratio So for a 40M sales price and a 30M midestimate 40M 30M 30M 33

Buyers premium The additional fees that the buyer will pay on top of the hammer price the

winning bid at auction

Withdrawn from auction This means that a lot was removed for sale by the vendor or the

auction house prior to the auction

Methodology