Celebrities by Warhol
Except otherwise stated, all results below include the premium.
See also : USA Warhol Later Warhols Groups
Chronology : 1960-1969 1962 1963 1966 1970-1979 1972
See also : USA Warhol Later Warhols Groups
Chronology : 1960-1969 1962 1963 1966 1970-1979 1972
1962 Marilyn
1
Quad
2013 SOLD for $ 38M by Phillips
After his first solo exhibition in July 1962 in Los Angeles, Andy Warhol, a former advertising illustrator turned artist and the painter of Coca Cola bottles and Campbell's cans, manages to develop a quick and repeatable technique to produce paintings : silkscreen printing over a painted surface. With such a process, he will make multiple images either dispositioned side by side on the same canvas or featured in different colors on separated canvas.
He makes his first trials with photographs of two young actors, Troy Donahue and Warren Beatty. The sudden death of Marilyn Monroe on August 5 is a major shock to the American dream. Magazines explore frantically the last periods of her life.just at that time. Warhol appreciates that the image of the actress was a perfect theme for the development of his themes beyond cats and soup cans.
Marilyn was dazzling. Andy chooses a film still made in 1952 to exalt his new posthumous muse. He copies the same image four times, in two columns and two rows, for a total size that now would seem small, 73 x 55 cm. In addition to the nice smile, the yellow hair before the orange background is expressing that death should not take its toll on the actress.
This is still a time for experiment. To enhance the graphic quality, Andy passes a second silkscreened layer over the acrylic. He shall quickly abandon this refinement which was not conducive to the rapid diversification wished by him for his art. This 'Four Marilyns' is one of the very first in the series devoted by Andy to this picture of the actress.
Warhol's Four Marilyns was sold for $ 38M by Phillips on May 16, 2013, lot 23. Please watch the video shared by the auction house before the sale. It was later sold for $ 36M by Christie's on November 10, 2015, lot 20B.
He makes his first trials with photographs of two young actors, Troy Donahue and Warren Beatty. The sudden death of Marilyn Monroe on August 5 is a major shock to the American dream. Magazines explore frantically the last periods of her life.just at that time. Warhol appreciates that the image of the actress was a perfect theme for the development of his themes beyond cats and soup cans.
Marilyn was dazzling. Andy chooses a film still made in 1952 to exalt his new posthumous muse. He copies the same image four times, in two columns and two rows, for a total size that now would seem small, 73 x 55 cm. In addition to the nice smile, the yellow hair before the orange background is expressing that death should not take its toll on the actress.
This is still a time for experiment. To enhance the graphic quality, Andy passes a second silkscreened layer over the acrylic. He shall quickly abandon this refinement which was not conducive to the rapid diversification wished by him for his art. This 'Four Marilyns' is one of the very first in the series devoted by Andy to this picture of the actress.
Warhol's Four Marilyns was sold for $ 38M by Phillips on May 16, 2013, lot 23. Please watch the video shared by the auction house before the sale. It was later sold for $ 36M by Christie's on November 10, 2015, lot 20B.
2
Single
2014 SOLD for $ 41M by Christie's
The early trials do not meet the productivity required by Warhol. The series of twelve single Marilyn 51 x 41 cm are made with a single screen printing over acrylic paints of various colors. Two of these paintings are monochromatic. They are the precursors of the global imaging desired by Warhol.
The White Marilyn was sold for $ 41M from a lower estimate of $ 12M by Christie's on May 13, 2014. Here are two results for colored variants. The Lemon Marilyn was sold for $ 28M by Christie's on May 18, 2007. The Orange Marilyn was sold for $ 16.3M by Christie's on November 15, 2006.
This series of twelve is contemporary with the Gold Marilyn currently at the MoMA, where the single silkscreen portrait surrounded by a halo occupies the center of a monumental canvas 211 x 145 cm.
That fabulous Gold Marilyn confirms that Warhol chose the theme of Marilyn through a mystical impulse and not by worldliness or desire to shock. A deep believer, he will come much later to religious iconography, preferring to show a preaching Christ rather than dying on the cross. His choice of an early picture of a Marilyn resplendent before the tragic events of her life matches the same idea.
The White Marilyn was sold for $ 41M from a lower estimate of $ 12M by Christie's on May 13, 2014. Here are two results for colored variants. The Lemon Marilyn was sold for $ 28M by Christie's on May 18, 2007. The Orange Marilyn was sold for $ 16.3M by Christie's on November 15, 2006.
This series of twelve is contemporary with the Gold Marilyn currently at the MoMA, where the single silkscreen portrait surrounded by a halo occupies the center of a monumental canvas 211 x 145 cm.
That fabulous Gold Marilyn confirms that Warhol chose the theme of Marilyn through a mystical impulse and not by worldliness or desire to shock. A deep believer, he will come much later to religious iconography, preferring to show a preaching Christ rather than dying on the cross. His choice of an early picture of a Marilyn resplendent before the tragic events of her life matches the same idea.
1962 Men in her Life
2010 SOLD for $ 63M by Phillips de Pury
The artistic language explored by Andy Warhol in 1962 is absolutely new. Objects from the mass consumption have their place in art in the form of series because they constitute an imaginary world understandable by everybody, and too bad if it is trivial. When he appreciates the advantage of screen printing to flood the art world with his pictures, he multiplies the dollars, more precisely the images of banknotes.
The world is fake and the celebrities are ephemeral. Warhol multiplies the Marilyns after the death of the actress as if she were a new Madonna. It is not enough for him. He will attack both the artificial life of the stars and the lies of photographs and newspapers.
Precisely, an article published by Life on April 13, 1962 summarizes the pathetic trajectory of the top movie star of the moment, Liz Taylor. After two divorces, she had been the widow of Mike Todd and it is clear that her fourth marriage, with Eddie Fisher, will not last. One of the photos cut from Life had been taken at the Epsom Derby in 1957. It shows two married couples whose destinies will soon collapse, Todd and Taylor and Fisher with Debbie Reynolds.
Made in the fall of 1962, Men in her Life is a black and white silkscreen on canvas 215 x 212 cm based on that happy image which is copied 38 times in seven rows. The artist varied the contrasts, from saturated to clear. A classic reading from left to right and from top to bottom transforms this unique theme into an agonizing narration, with a gradual deterioration in the quality of the image and in its cropping and with the jagged appearance of the right edge.
The variety of contrasts and framings opens the way for the Elvis Ferus-type of the following year. The title makes the actress appear as a man-eater, anticipating the morbid atmosphere of Death and Disaster and especially the mosaics of images of Car Crash, also from 1963. Again in 1963 the seriously ill Liz will succeed Marilyn in Warhol's pantheon.
Men in her Life was sold for $ 63M including premium by Phillips de Pury on November 8, 2010, lot 15.
The world is fake and the celebrities are ephemeral. Warhol multiplies the Marilyns after the death of the actress as if she were a new Madonna. It is not enough for him. He will attack both the artificial life of the stars and the lies of photographs and newspapers.
Precisely, an article published by Life on April 13, 1962 summarizes the pathetic trajectory of the top movie star of the moment, Liz Taylor. After two divorces, she had been the widow of Mike Todd and it is clear that her fourth marriage, with Eddie Fisher, will not last. One of the photos cut from Life had been taken at the Epsom Derby in 1957. It shows two married couples whose destinies will soon collapse, Todd and Taylor and Fisher with Debbie Reynolds.
Made in the fall of 1962, Men in her Life is a black and white silkscreen on canvas 215 x 212 cm based on that happy image which is copied 38 times in seven rows. The artist varied the contrasts, from saturated to clear. A classic reading from left to right and from top to bottom transforms this unique theme into an agonizing narration, with a gradual deterioration in the quality of the image and in its cropping and with the jagged appearance of the right edge.
The variety of contrasts and framings opens the way for the Elvis Ferus-type of the following year. The title makes the actress appear as a man-eater, anticipating the morbid atmosphere of Death and Disaster and especially the mosaics of images of Car Crash, also from 1963. Again in 1963 the seriously ill Liz will succeed Marilyn in Warhol's pantheon.
Men in her Life was sold for $ 63M including premium by Phillips de Pury on November 8, 2010, lot 15.
1963 Elvis
1
Triple
2014 SOLD for $ 82M by Christie's
There is indeed a place for contemporary art in Los Angeles. In 1957 Walter Hopps founds the Ferus Gallery. Ferus is a word that sounds good and is easily spelled, like Kodak had been for Eastman. In New York around Castelli, Pop Art becomes the wonder of the time. Irving Blum joins Ferus and ensures from 1958 the link with the east coast.
In 1962 Blum exhibits at Ferus the complete series of 32 Campbell's Soup Cans by Andy Warhol. The introduction of mechanized techniques into a creative process is incongruous and even scandalous. The promises of sale are so low that Blum buys the full set. It has not been disjointed and is currently at the MoMA.
Blum perseveres. In 1963 Ferus again dedicates an exhibition to Warhol's series. The new theme is provided by the cinema, the specialty of Los Angeles : Warhol exhibits Elvis. There is no better candidate than the King of Rock and Roll to simulate the trepidation of the new generation.
In this exhibition all the images of Elvis Presley originate from a single 1960 newspaper clipping promoting a film titled Flaming Star. Featured as a cowboy, Elvis is standing full front, the gun in his right hand. This image is now identified as the Elvis - Ferus Type.
Andy made all these impressions on a silver paint which stages the screen of a movie theater. He prepares them as a single roll 2.08 m high. The images are irregularly spaced and sometimes overlapping. The artist sends the uncut roll to Ferus with the frames, with no other instruction than to make a tight arrangement of all this set, thus evoking the film strip or the movement. He is too busy to participate in the mounting and does not accept Blum's invitation.
22 Ferus Type paintings have survived, with single, double or multiple figures. On November 12, 2014, Christie's sold for $ 82M the Triple Elvis (Ferus Type), 208 x 173 cm, lot 9.
Such a multiple picture provides an illusion of motion. Although the original image is unique, its layout reminds Marey, Muybridge and the Nu descendant un escalier by Duchamp. The three overlapping figures are of equal density but the momentum is provided by their uneven interval.
This piece and the Four Marlons of the same sale came from a German collection assembled for decorating a casino.
In 1962 Blum exhibits at Ferus the complete series of 32 Campbell's Soup Cans by Andy Warhol. The introduction of mechanized techniques into a creative process is incongruous and even scandalous. The promises of sale are so low that Blum buys the full set. It has not been disjointed and is currently at the MoMA.
Blum perseveres. In 1963 Ferus again dedicates an exhibition to Warhol's series. The new theme is provided by the cinema, the specialty of Los Angeles : Warhol exhibits Elvis. There is no better candidate than the King of Rock and Roll to simulate the trepidation of the new generation.
In this exhibition all the images of Elvis Presley originate from a single 1960 newspaper clipping promoting a film titled Flaming Star. Featured as a cowboy, Elvis is standing full front, the gun in his right hand. This image is now identified as the Elvis - Ferus Type.
Andy made all these impressions on a silver paint which stages the screen of a movie theater. He prepares them as a single roll 2.08 m high. The images are irregularly spaced and sometimes overlapping. The artist sends the uncut roll to Ferus with the frames, with no other instruction than to make a tight arrangement of all this set, thus evoking the film strip or the movement. He is too busy to participate in the mounting and does not accept Blum's invitation.
22 Ferus Type paintings have survived, with single, double or multiple figures. On November 12, 2014, Christie's sold for $ 82M the Triple Elvis (Ferus Type), 208 x 173 cm, lot 9.
Such a multiple picture provides an illusion of motion. Although the original image is unique, its layout reminds Marey, Muybridge and the Nu descendant un escalier by Duchamp. The three overlapping figures are of equal density but the momentum is provided by their uneven interval.
This piece and the Four Marlons of the same sale came from a German collection assembled for decorating a casino.
2
Double
2019 SOLD for $ 53M by Christie's
A Double Elvis in a normally contrasted overlapping, 208 x 122 cm, was sold for $ 53M by Christie's on May 15, 2019, lot 23 B.
3
Double
2012 SOLD for $ 37M by Sotheby's
A Double Elvis 208 x 122 cm deliberate displays an extreme difference of contrast between the two overlapping printings which creates an illusion of flicker.
It was sold by Sotheby's on May 9, 2012 for $ 37M and by Christie's on May 17, 2018, lot 9 B, also for $ 37M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
It was sold by Sotheby's on May 9, 2012 for $ 37M and by Christie's on May 17, 2018, lot 9 B, also for $ 37M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
4
Double
2021 SOLD for $ 37M by Sotheby's
An Elvis 2 Times 207 x 180 cm in silkscreen ink and paint was sold for $ 37M by Sotheby's on May 12, 2021, lot 4. The silver paint of the background provides a high reflectivity. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
The catalogue includes a photo in period featuring the actress Jean Seberg, aged 25, nicely playing a terror in front of two double Elvis's in Warhol's studio, including the piece for the next sale.
The catalogue includes a photo in period featuring the actress Jean Seberg, aged 25, nicely playing a terror in front of two double Elvis's in Warhol's studio, including the piece for the next sale.
1966 Marlon
1
1966 Four Marlons
2014 SOLD for $ 70M by Christie's
Andy Warhol was an interpreter of the society of his time. He was a film buff and the pictorial images which made him famous in 1962 were a last resort. Even Elvis, the king of music hall, is reappropriated in 1963 through an image taken from a movie. Warhol multiplies the cinematographic experiences as producer and director and announces in 1965 that he will devote himself entirely to cinema, with a clear tendency for the underground.
The star actor of the Warhol generation is Marlon Brando. In 1953 in The Wild One, Brando and his gang of bikers embody the rebellion against the established order. The young man is the archetype and the archangel of the new rebels without a cause. Andy reappropriates a publicity still on which the modern gang leader rides his Triumph. With his leather jacket and his cap, he is the archetype of the new lawless thug. Andy makes in 1963 a single painting, on a silver background.
This image is reused by Warhol in 1966 in the circumstances of the new threats against the American dream. The challenge is everywhere, against the war in Vietnam, for racial equality, against the social establishment, for non-violence. He seems to have chosen to revisit this theme himself, without a commission from a dealer or a prompting by a friend.
He prepares eight opuses of this Marlon by screen printing on raw unprimed linen, bringing a strange color as well as a great shine, with or without the large empty margin designed to unbalance the reading of the image. Only three of them are repeated images.
The two by two quad 206 x 165 cm without margins has no equivalent in that theme. It was sold for $ 70M by Christie's on November 12, 2014, lot 10.
The star actor of the Warhol generation is Marlon Brando. In 1953 in The Wild One, Brando and his gang of bikers embody the rebellion against the established order. The young man is the archetype and the archangel of the new rebels without a cause. Andy reappropriates a publicity still on which the modern gang leader rides his Triumph. With his leather jacket and his cap, he is the archetype of the new lawless thug. Andy makes in 1963 a single painting, on a silver background.
This image is reused by Warhol in 1966 in the circumstances of the new threats against the American dream. The challenge is everywhere, against the war in Vietnam, for racial equality, against the social establishment, for non-violence. He seems to have chosen to revisit this theme himself, without a commission from a dealer or a prompting by a friend.
He prepares eight opuses of this Marlon by screen printing on raw unprimed linen, bringing a strange color as well as a great shine, with or without the large empty margin designed to unbalance the reading of the image. Only three of them are repeated images.
The two by two quad 206 x 165 cm without margins has no equivalent in that theme. It was sold for $ 70M by Christie's on November 12, 2014, lot 10.
2
Double Marlon
2008 SOLD for $ 32.5M by Christie's
A double Marlon, 213 x 243 cm, was sold for $ 32.5M by Christie's on May 13, 2008, lot 12. The left margin, much larger than the image, and the monochromy position this view in the following of the disasters, as if Andy had made his choice between his attraction to the first movies played by Marlon and the threats brought by the thugs.
With a green left margin, a simple Marlon, 104 x 117 cm, was sold for $ 23.7M from a lower estimate of $ 15M by Christie's on November 14, 2012, lot 14.
With a green left margin, a simple Marlon, 104 x 117 cm, was sold for $ 23.7M from a lower estimate of $ 15M by Christie's on November 14, 2012, lot 14.
1972 Mao
2015 SOLD for $ 48M by Sotheby's
Anxious since the almost successful murder attempt against him in 1968, Andy Warhol changed his life : he is now a recluse and hardly works anymore. Art dealers are impatient. In 1972 Bischofberger suggests to him to find a new iconic theme.
Andy chooses the only picture in the world that has been distributed in hundreds of millions of copies : the official three-color portrait of Mao Zedong which among other uses illustrates the Little Red Book. Mao succeeded for the popular imagery the unlimited multiplication that Andy had dreamed with his Marilyn's. The historic handshake between Mao and Nixon early in the same year may be just a coincidence.
Andy painted eleven similar Mao's in 1972, 208 cm high with a slightly variable width. The lines and the proportions in relation to the frame are comparable to the official image with the exception of the shadow that invades the left cheek and the chin. The artist changed the color of the tunic and of the background.
Andy Warhol was not active in politics but his Democratic and popular sympathies are known. The first idol of his artistic career, Marilyn, was close to Kennedy. He multiplies her image to offer it posthumously to a modern mystic idolatry.
After 1964 Warhol significantly reduces his activity as a painter to try to become an idol for others through the show business. It was not his best idea. His trend toward the underground went against such a purpose and his temperament certainly did not favor his acceptance in the jet set.
Pushed by Bischofberger, Warhol is back to painting in 1972. He needs a new star able to match Marilyn. He hesitates on Einstein and chooses Mao.
Mao by Warhol is an American political message. Nixon announced his candidacy for a presidential re-election just before his trip to China. When shaking hands with Mao, Nixon appears as a statesman of the same importance as the Great Helmsman. This does not please Warhol.
As for Marilyn, Warhol chooses an ancient image. Unlike Marilyn, Mao's image was universally known before Warhol reused it : held up since 1949 by millions of Chinese, it illustrates the Little Red Book. It is a thorn to Nixon : watch this undemocratic idol that Americans are now invited to admire. In five sizes and all colors, the Maos of Warhol, in their official dignity, do not express any feeling.
Warhol is still working in screen print and acrylic, but his technique has changed. The brushstroke is visible, contributing to the energy of the artwork. Again, Warhol was wrong. This new process is taking too long and his art is gradually less cared when he extends the series.
A brilliant and carefully executed picture considered as the prototype of that series, achieved without the support of an assistant, is indeed the best painting in that theme. This picture 208 x 145 cm was sold for $ 48M by Sotheby's on November 11, 2015, lot 11(11-11-11).
On November 16, 2017, Sotheby's sold for $ 32.4M a Mao 208 x 152 cm, lot 45. A Mao 208 x 155 cm was sold for $ 17.4M by Christie's on November 15, 2006.
In the following year Warhol multiplies his Mao's with smaller formats and new color variants. Mao's head, proportionally smaller, has lost the dignity of the official portrait. One of them with a dark red tunic and a black background was sold for $ 13.5M by Phillips de Pury on November 15, 2012 and for $ 14.5M by Sotheby's on May 12, 2015.
Andy chooses the only picture in the world that has been distributed in hundreds of millions of copies : the official three-color portrait of Mao Zedong which among other uses illustrates the Little Red Book. Mao succeeded for the popular imagery the unlimited multiplication that Andy had dreamed with his Marilyn's. The historic handshake between Mao and Nixon early in the same year may be just a coincidence.
Andy painted eleven similar Mao's in 1972, 208 cm high with a slightly variable width. The lines and the proportions in relation to the frame are comparable to the official image with the exception of the shadow that invades the left cheek and the chin. The artist changed the color of the tunic and of the background.
Andy Warhol was not active in politics but his Democratic and popular sympathies are known. The first idol of his artistic career, Marilyn, was close to Kennedy. He multiplies her image to offer it posthumously to a modern mystic idolatry.
After 1964 Warhol significantly reduces his activity as a painter to try to become an idol for others through the show business. It was not his best idea. His trend toward the underground went against such a purpose and his temperament certainly did not favor his acceptance in the jet set.
Pushed by Bischofberger, Warhol is back to painting in 1972. He needs a new star able to match Marilyn. He hesitates on Einstein and chooses Mao.
Mao by Warhol is an American political message. Nixon announced his candidacy for a presidential re-election just before his trip to China. When shaking hands with Mao, Nixon appears as a statesman of the same importance as the Great Helmsman. This does not please Warhol.
As for Marilyn, Warhol chooses an ancient image. Unlike Marilyn, Mao's image was universally known before Warhol reused it : held up since 1949 by millions of Chinese, it illustrates the Little Red Book. It is a thorn to Nixon : watch this undemocratic idol that Americans are now invited to admire. In five sizes and all colors, the Maos of Warhol, in their official dignity, do not express any feeling.
Warhol is still working in screen print and acrylic, but his technique has changed. The brushstroke is visible, contributing to the energy of the artwork. Again, Warhol was wrong. This new process is taking too long and his art is gradually less cared when he extends the series.
A brilliant and carefully executed picture considered as the prototype of that series, achieved without the support of an assistant, is indeed the best painting in that theme. This picture 208 x 145 cm was sold for $ 48M by Sotheby's on November 11, 2015, lot 11(11-11-11).
On November 16, 2017, Sotheby's sold for $ 32.4M a Mao 208 x 152 cm, lot 45. A Mao 208 x 155 cm was sold for $ 17.4M by Christie's on November 15, 2006.
In the following year Warhol multiplies his Mao's with smaller formats and new color variants. Mao's head, proportionally smaller, has lost the dignity of the official portrait. One of them with a dark red tunic and a black background was sold for $ 13.5M by Phillips de Pury on November 15, 2012 and for $ 14.5M by Sotheby's on May 12, 2015.
