Mm! Mm! Good!
Thš»ey may not be Campbell Soup cans, but tasty, original works from pop art icon Andy Warholās formative years are currently under the hammer.
āAndy Warhol by Hand: The 1950s” predates his exploration into screenprinting,
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 ārare-to-market drawings offer a vivid picture of Warholās 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 wšÆith rose flower buds and a red ribbon at the bottom could fetch $40,000.
The piece was likelyš 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 artistās 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.
In May 2022 his silkscreen of Marilyn Monroe — “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” — sold for a mind-blowing $195 million at a charity auction, seštting 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 š ŗin February 1987 at New York Hospital due to complications following a surgery to remove his gall bladder.