Warhol's self-portrait could sell for $40 million

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Andy Warhol's 1986 'Self-Portrait'.

Credit: Reuters/Christie's

By Chris Michaud

NEW YORK | Wed Apr 20, 2011 5:03pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Andy Warhol self-portrait completed shortly before his death is expected to sell for as much as $40 million at auction next month, Christie's said on Wednesday.

"Self-Portrait," a large haunting depiction of Warhol rendered in deep red and black, was done in 1986 and displayed in a widely praised gallery show in London just months before he died after routine surgery in New York.

"It is a rare event that a work of this grandeur and stature comes to market," said Amy Cappellazzo, Christie's international co-head and deputy chairman of post-war and contemporary art.

"With all the other examples in museums, it will be the last chance that buyers will have to bid on a work that shifted art history," she added about the sale on May 11.

The record price for a Warhol self-portrait is $32.6 million set last May at Sotheby's in New York. "Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I)," which Christie's sold for a whopping $71.7 million in 2007, is the record for any Warhol sold at auction.

Two weeks ago Christie's announced it would sell the pop artist's very first self portrait, a 1963 four-panel acrylic silkscreen depicting him in a trench coat and sunglasses being sold by the family of Detroit collector Florence Barron, who commissioned it for $1,600. It is expected to fetch $30 million or more.

At the time of the 1986 exhibition, art historian Robert Rosenblum observed that Warhol was addressing one of art's great themes of an aging master looking at himself with "melancholy introspection," not unlike the self-portraits of Rembrandt and Van Gogh.

Of the large self-portraits Warhol painted in 1986, the other six are all in museums, including the New York's Guggenheim and the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, or in foundation collections.

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Andy Warhol's 1986 'Self-Portrait'.

Credit: Reuters/Christie's

By Chris Michaud

NEW YORK | Wed Apr 20, 2011 5:03pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Andy Warhol self-portrait completed shortly before his death is expected to sell for as much as $40 million at auction next month, Christie's said on Wednesday.

"Self-Portrait," a large haunting depiction of Warhol rendered in deep red and black, was done in 1986 and displayed in a widely praised gallery show in London just months before he died after routine surgery in New York.

"It is a rare event that a work of this grandeur and stature comes to market," said Amy Cappellazzo, Christie's international co-head and deputy chairman of post-war and contemporary art.

"With all the other examples in museums, it will be the last chance that buyers will have to bid on a work that shifted art history," she added about the sale on May 11.

The record price for a Warhol self-portrait is $32.6 million set last May at Sotheby's in New York. "Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I)," which Christie's sold for a whopping $71.7 million in 2007, is the record for any Warhol sold at auction.

Two weeks ago Christie's announced it would sell the pop artist's very first self portrait, a 1963 four-panel acrylic silkscreen depicting him in a trench coat and sunglasses being sold by the family of Detroit collector Florence Barron, who commissioned it for $1,600. It is expected to fetch $30 million or more.

At the time of the 1986 exhibition, art historian Robert Rosenblum observed that Warhol was addressing one of art's great themes of an aging master looking at himself with "melancholy introspection," not unlike the self-portraits of Rembrandt and Van Gogh.

Of the large self-portraits Warhol painted in 1986, the other six are all in museums, including the New York's Guggenheim and the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, or in foundation collections.

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Warhol bought for $1,600 could fetch $30 million

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A portrait of actress Elizabeth Taylor by Andy Warhol is seen at the Phillips de Pury gallery in New York, March 28, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

By Chris Michaud

NEW YORK | Fri Apr 8, 2011 1:57pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Andy Warhol self-portrait purchased in 1963 for $1,600 on an installment plan is poised to fetch $30 million or more when it hits the auction block at Christie's in May.

"Self-Portrait," a four-panel acrylic silkscreen depicting the pop artist wearing a trench coat and sunglasses, is being sold by the family of Detroit collector Florence Barron.

Barron first commissioned Warhol to paint her portrait, but changed her mind and suggested the young artist depict himself, telling him, "Nobody knows me ... They want to see you."

The result was Warhol's first self portrait, four images taken in a coin-operated photo booth rendered in hues of blue.

"My mother didn't look at collecting in terms of 'is this important or not important,'" Guy Barron told Reuters.

"She looked at it from the standpoint of what resonated with her, and of 'I want to live with it.' It was not done as some people do today, as wall power."

The portrait graced the living room wall of the family home in Detroit. It also went on public display, serving as the cover image for catalogs from major Warhol exhibitions and retrospectives at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain.

Brett Gorvy, Christie's international co-head and deputy chairman for post-war and contemporary art, said the work marked the beginning of Warhol's own stardom.

"With dark sunglasses an oblivious gaze, Warhol was ahead of his time in creating a new archetype of glamour," Gorvy said.

"The painting is remarkable not only for its visual impact and the introduction of the photo booth genre, but for marking a key moment in the history of art, when Warhol takes his place in the pantheon of celebrity alongside Marilyn, Elizabeth and Elvis."

Barron, whose family includes two married sons and several grandchildren, said they were auctioning the work because "dividing is not possible, so selling makes the most sense."

"I feel that Andy Warhol himself would appreciate this, because he always talked about everyone in their lifetime having their turn in the spotlight for 15 minutes. Who'd have thought that his self-portrait would play such a role in our lives?"

The record for a Warhol self-portrait is $32.6 million set last May at Sotheby's in New York. The record price for any Warhol sold at auction is "Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I)," which Christie's sold for a whopping $71.7 million in 2007.

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A portrait of actress Elizabeth Taylor by Andy Warhol is seen at the Phillips de Pury gallery in New York, March 28, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

By Chris Michaud

NEW YORK | Fri Apr 8, 2011 1:57pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Andy Warhol self-portrait purchased in 1963 for $1,600 on an installment plan is poised to fetch $30 million or more when it hits the auction block at Christie's in May.

"Self-Portrait," a four-panel acrylic silkscreen depicting the pop artist wearing a trench coat and sunglasses, is being sold by the family of Detroit collector Florence Barron.

Barron first commissioned Warhol to paint her portrait, but changed her mind and suggested the young artist depict himself, telling him, "Nobody knows me ... They want to see you."

The result was Warhol's first self portrait, four images taken in a coin-operated photo booth rendered in hues of blue.

"My mother didn't look at collecting in terms of 'is this important or not important,'" Guy Barron told Reuters.

"She looked at it from the standpoint of what resonated with her, and of 'I want to live with it.' It was not done as some people do today, as wall power."

The portrait graced the living room wall of the family home in Detroit. It also went on public display, serving as the cover image for catalogs from major Warhol exhibitions and retrospectives at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain.

Brett Gorvy, Christie's international co-head and deputy chairman for post-war and contemporary art, said the work marked the beginning of Warhol's own stardom.

"With dark sunglasses an oblivious gaze, Warhol was ahead of his time in creating a new archetype of glamour," Gorvy said.

"The painting is remarkable not only for its visual impact and the introduction of the photo booth genre, but for marking a key moment in the history of art, when Warhol takes his place in the pantheon of celebrity alongside Marilyn, Elizabeth and Elvis."

Barron, whose family includes two married sons and several grandchildren, said they were auctioning the work because "dividing is not possible, so selling makes the most sense."

"I feel that Andy Warhol himself would appreciate this, because he always talked about everyone in their lifetime having their turn in the spotlight for 15 minutes. Who'd have thought that his self-portrait would play such a role in our lives?"

The record for a Warhol self-portrait is $32.6 million set last May at Sotheby's in New York. The record price for any Warhol sold at auction is "Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I)," which Christie's sold for a whopping $71.7 million in 2007.

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