1963 Elvis and Liz by Warhol
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Warhol Celebrities by Warhol
Chronology : 1960-1969 1963 1965
See also : Warhol Celebrities by Warhol
Chronology : 1960-1969 1963 1965
Sep-Oct 1963 Second solo show at Ferus Gallery
Both the Ferus Type Elvis series and the concurrent Silver Liz (Elizabeth Taylor) series were created in 1963 for Warhol’s exhibition at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, forming a deliberate pairing of Hollywood icons that highlighted shared themes while differing in scale, format, and tone.
Shared Elements
Legacy and Market
Both series are cornerstones of Warhol’s 1960s output, with strong museum presence and high auction values. Elvis works (especially large multiples like Triple Elvis) have set records (e.g., ~$82M in 2014), while Silver Liz pieces also command millions, prized for intimacy and color variation. Together, they exemplify Warhol’s Hollywood obsession and serial innovation.
In short, the Elvis series feels more expansive and kinetic (cinematic Western spectacle), while the Liz series is more intimate and jewel-like (glamorous portraiture), yet they function as complementary sides of the same Pop coin—silver-screen stardom refracted through mechanical reproduction.
Shared Elements
- Timing and Production: Produced in summer 1963 in Warhol’s New York studio (with Gerard Malanga’s assistance), using silkscreen on canvas with metallic silver grounds that evoked the “silver screen” of cinema. Both explored celebrity as reproducible commodity, glamour, performance, and media myth-making.
- Exhibition Context: Hung together at Ferus (Elvises in the front room, Lizes in the back), creating a gendered cinematic diptych—masculine cowboy archetype vs. feminine star power. Neither series sold during the show, yet both advanced Warhol’s Pop Art breakthrough on the West Coast.
- Technique and Aesthetic: Silver backgrounds (spray paint or paint) for reflectivity and glamour; silkscreen repetition for mechanical detachment. Both drew from publicity/film stills, emphasizing artifice over narrative.
- Themes: Hollywood packaging of stars, fame’s repetition, desire, and superficiality as mirror (Warhol as “surface”). Silver symbolized past/future glamour, tying into the Factory aesthetic.
- Elvis: Full-length gunslinger from Flaming Star (1960 Western publicity still)—dramatic, action-oriented, cowboy archetype. Emphasized Elvis as actor (not primarily musician) and Hollywood’s formulaic Western product. Conveyed American masculinity as costume/performance.
- Liz Taylor: Mostly bust- or head-and-shoulders portraits (some multi-image), often from publicity or film contexts like Cleopatra. Focused on glamorous close-up beauty, excess, vulnerability, and scandal (e.g., near-death illness, high-profile romances). More intimate and jewel-toned in some variants.
- Elvis (Ferus Type): Variable widths from one large roll (same height, ~life-size); mix of singles, overlapping/side-by-side doubles, and triples. Dynamic, film-strip-like motion and density in installation. Monumental and immersive.
- Liz: More uniform square or rectangular formats (often ~40x40 inches for singles); some multi-image compositions (e.g., repeated heads). Generally more contained and portrait-oriented, though installed densely.
- Elvis: Bold, confrontational, cinematic action with repetition suggesting movement or erosion. Often read as commentary on mass-produced Westerns, celebrity commodification, and blank heroism. Overlaps (e.g., Double Elvis) create strobe/flicker effects.
- Liz: More seductive, tragic, and excessive—highlighting survival, beauty under pressure, and “tragic sexuality.” Colors sometimes added vibrancy or drama (beyond pure silver); seen as homage to a “queen” of Hollywood with camp and empathy.
Legacy and Market
Both series are cornerstones of Warhol’s 1960s output, with strong museum presence and high auction values. Elvis works (especially large multiples like Triple Elvis) have set records (e.g., ~$82M in 2014), while Silver Liz pieces also command millions, prized for intimacy and color variation. Together, they exemplify Warhol’s Hollywood obsession and serial innovation.
In short, the Elvis series feels more expansive and kinetic (cinematic Western spectacle), while the Liz series is more intimate and jewel-like (glamorous portraiture), yet they function as complementary sides of the same Pop coin—silver-screen stardom refracted through mechanical reproduction.
Elvis
The Ferus Type Elvis series (1963) represents a pivotal moment in Andy Warhol’s career, blending his fascination with celebrity, mass media, Hollywood artifice, and mechanical reproduction.
The 1963 Ferus Gallery Exhibition
Warhol’s second solo show at Irving Blum’s Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles (September 30–October 26, 1963) followed his breakthrough Campbell’s Soup Cans exhibition there in 1962. It featured around 22–23 Elvis canvases (the “Ferus Type”) in the front room, paired with silver Liz Taylor portraits in the back. The installation was dense, with works hung edge-to-edge as Warhol requested, creating a cinematic, repetitive frieze effect that evoked film strips or the “silver screen.”
No works sold during the show, and reviews were mixed (some dismissive of Pop Art as a “put-on”), but it proved highly influential in establishing Warhol on the West Coast and refining his signature style: silkscreen on silver-painted linen, Hollywood iconography, repetition, and detachment.
Original Roll and Gallery Arrangement
Warhol (with assistant Gerard Malanga) silkscreened repeating images onto a single large roll of canvas (around 37 feet long) in his New York studio. He shipped this roll to Blum along with a box of stretcher bars—all the same height (roughly life-size, about 6.5–7 feet tall) but varying widths. Blum was instructed to cut, stretch, and install the pieces as he saw fit, with the directive to hang them densely edge-to-edge.
This resulted in a mix of formats: single Elvises, doubles (side-by-side or overlapping), and some triples or more. The process underscored Warhol’s interest in relinquishing (or appearing to relinquish) control while predetermining outcomes via the printed repeats and bar sizes. Some doubles had extra color on one panel. The silver backgrounds (spray paint or paint) created a reflective, cinematic sheen.
Image Choice: Elvis as Cowboy, Not Performer
The source image was a 1960 publicity still from the Western film Flaming Star (not a music/guitar shot). Elvis appears full-length as a gunslinger, gun drawn, in cowboy attire—emphasizing his Hollywood actor persona over his rock ‘n’ roll roots. By 1963, post-Army Elvis was seen as somewhat tamed by formulaic movies; Warhol highlighted this commodification and myth-making. The choice added dramatic flair (at Blum’s suggestion for more impact than earlier “Studio Type” Elvises) and tied into themes of performance, the Western genre as mass product, and American masculinity as costume.
Artist’s Intention and Absence from the Opening
Warhol intended the works as a mirror to Sixties America—celebrity as repeatable image, Hollywood artifice, desire, and performance on a blank “silver screen.” Repetition evoked film reels, mass production (like soup cans), and the blurring of reality and persona. The silver evoked glamour, the Factory’s aesthetic, and futuristic/past “silver screen” vibes. He explored transcendence through superficiality and ambivalence (trash or tragedy).
He initially claimed he couldn’t attend the opening (a “convenient fib”), but he did visit LA, driving cross-country with Malanga and others, and enjoyed the installation. He later reflected positively on seeing the Elvises alongside the Lizes.
Breakthrough, Legacy
The exhibition was a breakthrough in Warhol’s use of serial imagery, silkscreen on canvas, silver grounds, and full embrace of Hollywood stars. It refined hallmarks like appropriation, camp, and mechanical reproduction, influencing his Factory output and Pop Art’s cultural impact. Many Ferus Elvises are now in major museums (e.g., MoMA’s Double Elvis, SFMOMA’s Triple Elvis). The series solidified Elvis as a Pop icon parallel to Warhol himself.
Auction market: Early values were modest; the series gained blue-chip status in the 1980s–2000s. Key records include a Triple Elvis selling for ~$81.9M at Christie’s in 2014 (a then-contemporary record). Double Elvis examples have performed strongly: this specific one sold at Sotheby’s NY (May 9, 2012, lot 27) for over $37M, then Christie’s NY (May 17, 2018, lot 9B). Values reflect rarity (only ~22 Ferus Types), provenance, condition, and format (overlapping doubles/triples often prized for dynamism). The market has seen strong demand for 1960s icons, with private sales (e.g., Eight Elvises at $100M in 2008) pushing highs.
The 1963 Ferus Gallery Exhibition
Warhol’s second solo show at Irving Blum’s Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles (September 30–October 26, 1963) followed his breakthrough Campbell’s Soup Cans exhibition there in 1962. It featured around 22–23 Elvis canvases (the “Ferus Type”) in the front room, paired with silver Liz Taylor portraits in the back. The installation was dense, with works hung edge-to-edge as Warhol requested, creating a cinematic, repetitive frieze effect that evoked film strips or the “silver screen.”
No works sold during the show, and reviews were mixed (some dismissive of Pop Art as a “put-on”), but it proved highly influential in establishing Warhol on the West Coast and refining his signature style: silkscreen on silver-painted linen, Hollywood iconography, repetition, and detachment.
Original Roll and Gallery Arrangement
Warhol (with assistant Gerard Malanga) silkscreened repeating images onto a single large roll of canvas (around 37 feet long) in his New York studio. He shipped this roll to Blum along with a box of stretcher bars—all the same height (roughly life-size, about 6.5–7 feet tall) but varying widths. Blum was instructed to cut, stretch, and install the pieces as he saw fit, with the directive to hang them densely edge-to-edge.
This resulted in a mix of formats: single Elvises, doubles (side-by-side or overlapping), and some triples or more. The process underscored Warhol’s interest in relinquishing (or appearing to relinquish) control while predetermining outcomes via the printed repeats and bar sizes. Some doubles had extra color on one panel. The silver backgrounds (spray paint or paint) created a reflective, cinematic sheen.
Image Choice: Elvis as Cowboy, Not Performer
The source image was a 1960 publicity still from the Western film Flaming Star (not a music/guitar shot). Elvis appears full-length as a gunslinger, gun drawn, in cowboy attire—emphasizing his Hollywood actor persona over his rock ‘n’ roll roots. By 1963, post-Army Elvis was seen as somewhat tamed by formulaic movies; Warhol highlighted this commodification and myth-making. The choice added dramatic flair (at Blum’s suggestion for more impact than earlier “Studio Type” Elvises) and tied into themes of performance, the Western genre as mass product, and American masculinity as costume.
Artist’s Intention and Absence from the Opening
Warhol intended the works as a mirror to Sixties America—celebrity as repeatable image, Hollywood artifice, desire, and performance on a blank “silver screen.” Repetition evoked film reels, mass production (like soup cans), and the blurring of reality and persona. The silver evoked glamour, the Factory’s aesthetic, and futuristic/past “silver screen” vibes. He explored transcendence through superficiality and ambivalence (trash or tragedy).
He initially claimed he couldn’t attend the opening (a “convenient fib”), but he did visit LA, driving cross-country with Malanga and others, and enjoyed the installation. He later reflected positively on seeing the Elvises alongside the Lizes.
Breakthrough, Legacy
The exhibition was a breakthrough in Warhol’s use of serial imagery, silkscreen on canvas, silver grounds, and full embrace of Hollywood stars. It refined hallmarks like appropriation, camp, and mechanical reproduction, influencing his Factory output and Pop Art’s cultural impact. Many Ferus Elvises are now in major museums (e.g., MoMA’s Double Elvis, SFMOMA’s Triple Elvis). The series solidified Elvis as a Pop icon parallel to Warhol himself.
Auction market: Early values were modest; the series gained blue-chip status in the 1980s–2000s. Key records include a Triple Elvis selling for ~$81.9M at Christie’s in 2014 (a then-contemporary record). Double Elvis examples have performed strongly: this specific one sold at Sotheby’s NY (May 9, 2012, lot 27) for over $37M, then Christie’s NY (May 17, 2018, lot 9B). Values reflect rarity (only ~22 Ferus Types), provenance, condition, and format (overlapping doubles/triples often prized for dynamism). The market has seen strong demand for 1960s icons, with private sales (e.g., Eight Elvises at $100M in 2008) pushing highs.
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.
Grok thought (two trials from the same tweet) :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 13, 2014
Andy #Warhol's Triple Elvis realizes $81,925,000 after 6 minutes of bidding
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.
Grok thought (two trials from the same tweet) :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 13, 2014
Andy #Warhol's Triple Elvis realizes $81,925,000 after 6 minutes of bidding
- Christie's post celebrates the $81.9 million hammer price for Andy Warhol's 1963 silkscreen "Triple Elvis [Ferus Type]," a record for the artist at the time, achieved after intense six-minute bidding that surpassed $60 million estimates.
- The artwork depicts three overlaid images of Elvis Presley in a gunslinger pose from his 1960 film "Flaming Star," showcasing Warhol's silkscreen method to critique celebrity culture through mechanical repetition and silver-flecked tonality.
- Anchoring Christie's $853 million post-war and contemporary art sale—the highest ever then—this transaction reflected 2014's art market boom, driven by wealthy collectors seeking blue-chip Pop Art amid global economic rebound.
- The post highlights the 2014 auction of Andy Warhol's "Triple Elvis," a 1963 silkscreen painting that sold for $81.9 million in just six minutes, reflecting the artwork's iconic status derived from a publicity still of Elvis Presley from the film Flaming Star, a piece that exemplifies Warhol's critique of celebrity culture and mass production, as noted in art historical analyses from the Tate Museum.
- This sale underscores a broader trend in the art market where Pop Art pieces, particularly those by Warhol, have seen exponential value growth, with another version, "Eight Elvises," fetching $100 million in 2008, suggesting a speculative bubble driven by wealthy collectors, a phenomenon supported by economic studies like those in the Journal of Cultural Economics (2015) linking art prices to financial market cycles.
- The artwork's creation coincided with the peak of Elvis Presley's fame and the rise of Pop Art in the 1960s, a movement that challenged traditional art norms by embracing commercial imagery, as evidenced by the Independent Group's influence in Britain, offering a surprising contrast to the abstract expressionism dominant at the time.
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.
Grok thought from an ArtHitParade tweet :
Grok thought from an ArtHitParade tweet :
- This 2019 post by @ArtHitParade announces the $53 million sale of Andy Warhol's 1963 silkscreen "Double Elvis [Ferus Type]" at Christie's, featuring overlapping silver silhouettes of Elvis Presley as a gunslinger, underscoring Pop Art's celebrity obsession.
- The artwork, from Warhol's early silver Elvis series inspired by the 1960 film Flaming Star, sold below its $50-70 million estimate in Christie's May 15 auction, reflecting a softening market for high-end Warhols amid broader contemporary art sales totaling $407 million that night.
- As part of @ArtHitParade's focus on auction-driven art history, the post highlights how such sales—ranking sixth globally in 2019—perpetuate Elvis's icon status, with the piece's Ferus Gallery provenance linking it to Warhol's 1963 Los Angeles debut.
3
2 Times
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 double figure of Elvis is here featured like as in a diptych instead as in overlapping. 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 narrated above.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys May 13, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: Seeing Double: Perhaps the most famous depiction of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll by the Prince of Pop Art, Andy Warhol’s ‘Elvis 2 Times’ achieves $37 million. #SothebysContemporary #AndyWarhol
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 narrated above.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys May 13, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: Seeing Double: Perhaps the most famous depiction of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll by the Prince of Pop Art, Andy Warhol’s ‘Elvis 2 Times’ achieves $37 million. #SothebysContemporary #AndyWarhol
- Sotheby's post celebrates the $37 million hammer price for Andy Warhol's 1963 diptych "Elvis 2 Times," a silkscreen portrait duo of Elvis Presley from the film Flaming Star, exceeding its $20-30 million estimate in the May 2021 Contemporary Evening Auction.
- The artwork, part of the late collector Anne Marion's estate, exemplifies Warhol's early Pop Art technique of repeating celebrity images to critique fame's commodification, with the image showing staff installing the 7-foot canvas during setup.
- This sale contributed to the auction's $157 million total, underscoring sustained market strength for Warhol's Elvis series, where a comparable diptych fetched $37.2 million at Christie's in 2015.
4
Double
2012 SOLD for $ 37M by Sotheby's
Another Double Elvis 208 x 122 cm deliberately 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. It will be sold by Christie's on May 18, 2026, lot 31A.
The Double Elvis [Ferus Type] at Christie’s on May 2026
This particular Double Elvis [Ferus Type] (1963, silkscreen ink and spray paint on linen, 81 ¾ x 48 in. / 207.6 x 121.9 cm) features two overlapping full-length images of Elvis as cowboy, with strong contrast and a shimmering silver ground. The overlap creates a flickering, strobe-like or filmic motion effect—almost like sequential frames—heightening the sense of performance, duplication, and ghostly presence on the flat, reflective surface.
One of the most dynamic compositions in the series, it exemplifies Warhol’s innovation with multiple figures on one canvas.
Provenance highlights: Ferus Gallery → Leo Castelli → private collections, including Ileana Sonnabend, Princess Miriam of Johor, Shaindy Fenton, and the Ards. It matches the exhibition history perfectly.
It is offered in Christie’s 20th Century Evening Sale (May 2026) from a private American collection, with prior public sales as noted. Estimates and interest reflect its iconic status, excellent provenance, and visual power as a “mirror to Sixties America.”
This work and the series as a whole remain among Warhol’s most recognizable and valuable, embodying Pop Art’s engagement with fame, repetition, and image culture.
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. It will be sold by Christie's on May 18, 2026, lot 31A.
The Double Elvis [Ferus Type] at Christie’s on May 2026
This particular Double Elvis [Ferus Type] (1963, silkscreen ink and spray paint on linen, 81 ¾ x 48 in. / 207.6 x 121.9 cm) features two overlapping full-length images of Elvis as cowboy, with strong contrast and a shimmering silver ground. The overlap creates a flickering, strobe-like or filmic motion effect—almost like sequential frames—heightening the sense of performance, duplication, and ghostly presence on the flat, reflective surface.
One of the most dynamic compositions in the series, it exemplifies Warhol’s innovation with multiple figures on one canvas.
Provenance highlights: Ferus Gallery → Leo Castelli → private collections, including Ileana Sonnabend, Princess Miriam of Johor, Shaindy Fenton, and the Ards. It matches the exhibition history perfectly.
It is offered in Christie’s 20th Century Evening Sale (May 2026) from a private American collection, with prior public sales as noted. Estimates and interest reflect its iconic status, excellent provenance, and visual power as a “mirror to Sixties America.”
This work and the series as a whole remain among Warhol’s most recognizable and valuable, embodying Pop Art’s engagement with fame, repetition, and image culture.
5
Single
2022 SOLD for $ 21.6M by Sotheby's
A single life size Elvis, silkscreen ink and silver paint on canvas 210 x 118 cm, was sold for $ 21.6M from a lower estimate of $ 15M by Sotheby's on May 19, 2022, lot 108.
Silver Liz
1
2022 SOLD for JPY 2.54 billion (worth US$ 21M) by Shinwa
Andy Warhol has built much of his initial fame with a single image of Marilyn and a single image of Liz, taken from magazines. Both are linking death with celebrity, as Marilyn had died and Liz's health
They however did not have the same role in the development of his business.
The first Marilyns from 1962 are experimental. Andy's idea is to mix the techniques of acrylic and silkscreen. He makes his hand in a variety of processes, dimensions and positioning of the image that is sometimes already multiplied in juxtaposition on a single canvas.
The Liz selected during the summer of 1963 opens the use of paint for a multiple reproduction with fixed dimension, here 40 x 40 inches, 102 x 102 cm in acrylic, in silkscreen ink and spray enamel on canvas. Such a set of multiple single paintings of the same design instead of positioning many images on one canvas maintains the illusion of wall advertising by exhibiting side by side the similar elements of the group. Afterwards each artwork were to be sold separately.
She is first seen on a background of silver painting, referring to the movie screens. A first pass of screen printing provides a mark for the colors: pink skin, red mouth, turquoise eye shadows. A second screen printing brings the deep black lines and hair. Silver is also a symbol of consumerism. In 1963 Warhol sported silver hair and renamed his studio the Silver Factory, papered throughout in silver.
Ten Silver Liz were exhibited beside the Silver Elvis series in September-October 1963, and additional copies were executed. This Liz series is known as the Ferus type. One of them was sold for $ 16.3M by Christie's on November 8, 2011, lot 51.
A Silver Liz (Ferus Type) was sold for JPY 2.3 billion before fees by Shinwa on March 30, 2022, lot 356. The result including premium reported by Artprice is worth JPY 2.54 billion.
They however did not have the same role in the development of his business.
The first Marilyns from 1962 are experimental. Andy's idea is to mix the techniques of acrylic and silkscreen. He makes his hand in a variety of processes, dimensions and positioning of the image that is sometimes already multiplied in juxtaposition on a single canvas.
The Liz selected during the summer of 1963 opens the use of paint for a multiple reproduction with fixed dimension, here 40 x 40 inches, 102 x 102 cm in acrylic, in silkscreen ink and spray enamel on canvas. Such a set of multiple single paintings of the same design instead of positioning many images on one canvas maintains the illusion of wall advertising by exhibiting side by side the similar elements of the group. Afterwards each artwork were to be sold separately.
She is first seen on a background of silver painting, referring to the movie screens. A first pass of screen printing provides a mark for the colors: pink skin, red mouth, turquoise eye shadows. A second screen printing brings the deep black lines and hair. Silver is also a symbol of consumerism. In 1963 Warhol sported silver hair and renamed his studio the Silver Factory, papered throughout in silver.
Ten Silver Liz were exhibited beside the Silver Elvis series in September-October 1963, and additional copies were executed. This Liz series is known as the Ferus type. One of them was sold for $ 16.3M by Christie's on November 8, 2011, lot 51.
A Silver Liz (Ferus Type) was sold for JPY 2.3 billion before fees by Shinwa on March 30, 2022, lot 356. The result including premium reported by Artprice is worth JPY 2.54 billion.
2
1963-1965 Diptych
2015 SOLD for $ 28M by Christie's
The Silver Liz diptych was sold by Sotheby's for $ 18.3M on May 11, 2010, and by Christie's for $ 28M on May 11, 2015, lot 19A.
This specimen has a specific history. It was included in the exhibition of ten Silver Liz 101 x 101 cm at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles in September-October 1963. When he prepared another exhibition to be held in Philadelphia in 1965, Andy recuperated this specific copy and flanked it on its left with a blank canvas of same size and same silver shade.
In this new configuration which has never been disassembled, the Silver Liz diptych remained a tribute to Liz while also imitating the wide screens of the movie theaters.
This specimen has a specific history. It was included in the exhibition of ten Silver Liz 101 x 101 cm at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles in September-October 1963. When he prepared another exhibition to be held in Philadelphia in 1965, Andy recuperated this specific copy and flanked it on its left with a blank canvas of same size and same silver shade.
In this new configuration which has never been disassembled, the Silver Liz diptych remained a tribute to Liz while also imitating the wide screens of the movie theaters.
1963 Early Colored Liz
1
# 3 Green
2014 SOLD for $ 31.5M by Sotheby's
In November 1963, Andy is preparing an exhibition of 101 x 101 cm Liz's which will be similar as the Silver Liz excepted the background color. The paintings used in this exhibition are numbered from 1 to 6. Seven additional specimens were not numbered. The series is identified as the Early Colored Liz.
The Early Colored Liz number 3 with green background was sold for $ 31.5M on November 11, 2014 by Sotheby's, lot 27.
In the following year, Andy uses his Liz in printed editions, again with backgrounds from various colors.
The Early Colored Liz number 3 with green background was sold for $ 31.5M on November 11, 2014 by Sotheby's, lot 27.
In the following year, Andy uses his Liz in printed editions, again with backgrounds from various colors.
2
# 5 Turquoise
2011 SOLD for $ 27M by Phillips de Pury
Liz Taylor died on March 23, 2011. The next day Phillips de Pury announced in a press release that her portrait by Warhol will be included in their contemporary art auction on May 12, 2011. Of course the negotiations with the seller had taken place before the death of the actress, but the media effect was very strong. It was sold for $ 27M.
This number 5 is the turquoise example from the group of six prepared for an exhibition at the end of 1963.
Unfortunately for her, Liz was sickly. Warhol used an expressionist technique for paying tribute to his idol. The violet contour of the eyes up to the eyebrows, the too dark red lips accentuate the appearance of pale face. The turquoise background of this serial number 5 has a chilling effect.
This number 5 is the turquoise example from the group of six prepared for an exhibition at the end of 1963.
Unfortunately for her, Liz was sickly. Warhol used an expressionist technique for paying tribute to his idol. The violet contour of the eyes up to the eyebrows, the too dark red lips accentuate the appearance of pale face. The turquoise background of this serial number 5 has a chilling effect.
3
Turquoise
2007 SOLD for $ 23.6M by Christie's
The whole group of the 1963 Early Colored Liz is made of of thirteen units 101 x 101 cm.
A painting with the turquoise background was sold for $ 23.6M by Christie's on November 13, 2007, lot 29.
The Early Colored Liz number 1 in a bright yellow background was sold for $ 20.3M on November 13, 2013 by Sotheby's.
From the same series of thirteen, a Liz with a cerulean blue background was sold for $ 19.3M by Christie's on May 15, 2019, lot 8 B. It is misdated 62 on the overlap.
A Liz on dark red background was sold for $ 12.6M by Sotheby's on May 10, 2005.
A painting with the turquoise background was sold for $ 23.6M by Christie's on November 13, 2007, lot 29.
The Early Colored Liz number 1 in a bright yellow background was sold for $ 20.3M on November 13, 2013 by Sotheby's.
From the same series of thirteen, a Liz with a cerulean blue background was sold for $ 19.3M by Christie's on May 15, 2019, lot 8 B. It is misdated 62 on the overlap.
A Liz on dark red background was sold for $ 12.6M by Sotheby's on May 10, 2005.
