“Back in 1967, there were two women who wanted to work for Andy Warhol. They go to his gallery, it’s called Leo Castelli, and they meet his gallery director, a guy named Ivan Karp, and they say, “Hey we want to work for Andy.” And he says, “Just a minute.” He gets Warhol on the phone. I mean you could do that in those days, it was a different world. And he says, “Hey, I’ve got two squirrels here who want to come work for you.” Anyway, they go to work for him. One of them sticks it out, the other one, I think, quit. After working for him for a year, and she was not getting paid, he was working on these self-portraits, and Warhol says to her, “Here, why don’t you pick one out.” OK, these paintings are 22-inches square. And she picks out, I don’t doubt the woman had a sixth sense, one of the best ones I’ve ever seen: purple, red and green, killer pop colors, just beautiful. Anyway, flash forward, she’s hung on to that painting until now. Decides to finally bring it out. And it’s coming up at Sotheby’s. Estimate $1 million to a $1.5, unbelievable, instant millionaire.”
hyde or die
Andy Warhol Richard L. Weisman
LOS ANGELES, CA.- Between September 2 & 3, 2009, a home was burglarized along Angelo Drive in West L.A. owned by businessman Richard L. Weisman. The property taken included a multi-million dollar collection of (11) 40” x 40” original artworks by Andy Warhol. Ten of the artworks depicted famous athletes and were made between 1977-79. A Warhol portrait of Mr. Weisman was also taken. A nanny entered the home on Thursday and immediately discovered the theft of the art from the walls of the dining room. She fled the house to a neighbor’s residence where police were called to the scene. A reward of $1 million has been offered for information leading to the recovery of the art. via…
Sherlock Hyde is on the case. Unfortunately, this will be extra difficult because I don’t know anyone who is interested in sports or sports paraphernalia and therefor interested in sports portraits by Warhol. I will have to search outside of my usual circles. If anyone knows anything I promise to give you a little credit, and totally buy you a drink or 2.
Andy Warhol’s Portrait of Michael Jackson Temporarily Pulled from Auction in New York
EAST HAMPTON, NY.- The Vered Gallery in East Hampton has temporarily removed an Andy Warhol portrait of Michael Jackson from the auction block.
The Associated Press reported that gallery co-owner Janet Lehr said in a statement she wanted to offer the 1984 work to “the greatest number of prospective purchasers.”
Pre-sale estimates ranged from one to 10 million US dollars. The painting shows Michael Jackson wearing a red jacket from his Thriller era.
Lehr told the new York Daily news last week that “the painting, which originally came from the Warhol estate, was consigned to the gallery by a New York private collector.”via…
In case you haven’t finished your coffee and didn’t catch it, “the greatest number of prospective purchasers” means “I’m trying really hard to make a buck.”
Andy Warhol The Last Supper
In case you didn’t get enough of your own personal Jesus today and happen to be in Paris, The Last Supper is up at the Grand Palais. Actually not just Jesus, but over 1,000 portraits are up.*
*In case you were in the mood for over-saturation.
A new book by Richard Polsky I sold Andy Warhol (too soon) which I can NOT wait to get my hands on. A complete insight to the art market, and the people involved, when everyone was feeling a little more, how shall I say it, flush.
“I Sold Andy Warhol(too soon) chronicles my 12-month journey to reinvest the money I made selling the Fright Wig. The painting I purchased for $47,500, which I sold for $375,000, was suddenly worth an inconceivable $2.5 million. Against the backdrop of a raging boom market, I found myself jousting with collectors with too much money, dealers with too little taste, and calculating women with intent on spending the money I’d made selling the Warhol”-Richard Polsky
Andy Warhol, Martha Graham, May 1979
All I have to do is add a little Madonna to get my blog to start looking like a scene from The Birdcage.
Andy Warhol Flowers exhibition at Gagosian Madison Avenue.
“A total of 449 Warhol lots were offered in 2007 (again excluding prints), with 388 finding buyers. In 2008, 509 Warhol lots were offered, and 266 sold — a drop in the sell-through rate from 86 percent to 52 percent. For prints, however, the market slow-down is less obvious, with an impressive 980 of 1,105 lots finding buyers in 2007, and 992 of 1,474 lots selling in 2008 — an increase in the number of lots, but a drop in the sell-through from about 88 percent to 67 percent.” via…
I wonder how much these numbers have to do with the economy in general or in people being oversaturated with Warhol? I guess it will be a few years until we find out.
