Metro

‘Andy Warhol by Hand: The 1950s’ auction captures pop art icon’s ‘formative years’

Mm! Mm! Good!

ThšŸ»ey may not be Campbell Soup cans, but tasty, original works from pop art icon Andy Warholā€™s formative years are currently under the hammer.

ā€œAndy Warhol by Hand: The 1950s” predates his exploration into screenprinting,

Andy Warhol’s ink on paper “Butterfly Lady” circa 1953 — could bring upwards
of $100,000. artnet.com
The items for sale pre-date Warhol during his pop art years. Sygma via Getty Images

The creme de la creme is Warhol’s ink on paper “Butterfly Lady” circa 1953 — which could bring upwards of $100,000 — the highest pre-sale piece in the 27-lot auction.

“It is a prominent example of a figure with rather androgenous facial features. In fact, it has recently been suggested that this drawing is a self-portrait of the artist in ‘low drag,’ a self-portrait in disguise since he was not presenting himself in drag at the time,” the lot description notes.

The ā€œrare-to-market drawings offer a vivid picture of Warholā€™s early, whirlwind years in New York City,” the website trumpets.

Items up for bid through June 20.

A portrait of English actress Hilda Trevelyan — best remembered for creating the role of Wendy in “Peter Pan” — is expected to sell for at least $20,000.

And an ink and watercolor on paper Christmas wreath wšŸ’Æith rose flower buds and a red ribbon at the bottom could fetch $40,000.

An ink and watercolor on paper Christmas wreath with
rose flower buds and a red ribbon at the bottom could fetch $40,000. artnet.com
A portrait of English actress Hilda Trevelyan —  best remembered for creating
the role of Wendy in “Peter Pan” — is expected to sell for at least $20,000 artnet.com
Warhol often used starlet Marilyn Monroe as his muse. AFP via Getty Images

The piece was likelyšŸŽ‰ created as part of a series of Christmas cards Warhol began designing for Tiffany & Co in 1956.

“The artist was drawing incessantly, both for his personal projects as well as for commercial purposes,” . “These works let us see the artistā€™s hand, his draughtsmanship and abundance of creativity paired with his early interest in repetition of subject matter. ”

Price of his early sketches can’t hold a candle to his later works.

“These works let us see the artistā€™s hand, his draughtsmanship and abundance
of creativity paired with his early interest in repetition of subject matter,” says
Artnet Auctions’ Johannes Vogt. artnet.com
A black ballpoint pen on paper piece, “Young Man in Profile,” circa 1956, is
among the Warhol items up for sale. artnet.com

In May 2022 his silkscreen of Marilyn Monroe — “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” — sold for a mind-blowing $195 million at a  charity auction, sešŸ’žtting a record for the most expensive piece of American art ever sold.

An East Village rowhouse where Warhol lived in the late 1960s  foź¦—r $6.19 million. 

Warhol died šŸ…ŗin February 1987 at New York Hospital due to complications following a surgery to remove his gall bladder.