Andy Warhol

Estate of Andy Warhol
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc., New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above

This work is in very good condition overall. The Polaroids have faded slightly with age. There are scattered pinpoint white spots that are inherent to the artist's chosen medium. In the second Polaroid of the middle row, an approximately 2-inch crack extends from the right edge into the image and appears flattened and stable. Each Polaroid is secured to the matte using four Mylar clips that are concealed by the top matte. Framed under Plexiglas. i. This work is stamped by The Estate of Andy Warhol and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., and numbered VF FA 01.00044 on the reverse. ii. This work is stamped by The Estate of Andy Warhol and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., and numbered VF FA 02.00027 on the reverse. iii. This work is stamped by The Estate of Andy Warhol and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., and numbered VR FA 02.00059 on the reverse. iv. This work is stamped by The Estate of Andy Warhol and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., and numbered VF FA 01.00119 on the reverse. v. This work is stamped by The Estate of Andy Warhol and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., and numbered VF FA 01.00102 on the reverse. vi. This work is stamped by The Estate of Andy Warhol and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., and numbered FA 02.00021 on the reverse. vii. This work is stamped by The Estate of Andy Warhol and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., and numbered VF FA 02.00117 on the reverse. viii. This work is stamped by The Estate of Andy Warhol and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., and numbered VF FA 01.00092 on the reverse. ix. This work is stamped by The Estate of Andy Warhol and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., and numbered VF FA 01.00118 on the reverse. x. This work is stamped by The Estate of Andy Warhol and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., and numbered VF FA 01.00079 on the reverse. xi. This work is stamped by The Estate of Andy Warhol and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., and numbered VF FA 02.00201 on the reverse. xii. This work is stamped by The Estate of Andy Warhol and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., and numbered VF FA 01.00042 on the reverse.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

“If you want to know about Andy Warhol, then just look at the surface of my pictures, my movies and me and there I am; there’s nothing in between.” Andy Warhol

Photography played an integral role in Andy Warhol’s oeuvre, providing the starting point for nearly every composition ever produced. The advent of the Polaroid Big Shot camera in 1971, with its instant delivery of a finished print, was an ideal tool for the artist, allowing him to see right away the results of his sessions; he could tote the camera to parties, photographing celebrities, socialites and friends alike, and similarly keep several (priced at the reasonable cost of $19.95) at The Factory to use for “formal” portrait sittings. Instantly changing the art historical landscape of portraiture and self-portraiture, the Polaroid camera further mechanized Warhol’s process, appealing to his sense of urgency, ease and speed. Acting as the point of genesis for any new work, the Polaroid camera is to Warhol as preparatory drawings were to Leonardo da Vinci; in both lies the genius of each artist’s groundbreaking output.

Sotheby’s is delighted to offer a selection of Polaroids that spans eight years of the artist’s career and reinforces Warhol’s fascination with seriality and repetition. Exuding casual spontaneity, glamour and the rigidity of formal portraiture, the following lots illustrate exactly how focused Warhol’s eye was to perceiving the reality hidden beneath the surface. While Warhol had mechanized the production of his works by the use of assistants in The Factory, the Polaroids present a uniquely intimate portrayal of Warhol—both behind and in front of the camera.

Warhol’s canon of self-portraiture stands as the most apt eulogy to the influential artist and the striking Self Portraits [Twelve Works] and Self-Portraits in Drag [Six Works] successfully capture on film this most alluring and elusive star. With unrivalled frontality and up-close theatricality of fright wigs, sunglasses, over-painted make-up and feminine wigs, we see both Warhol the man and Warhol the cultural phenomenon. The celebrity snapshots of Liza Minelli, Diana Ross, Jerry Hall and Bianca Jagger are more typical of Warhol’s staged sittings in The Factory, affording the viewer the chance to see how Warhol’s personal touches as director and photographer manifest in a more formal setting. Each Polaroid in this exceptional group explores Warhol’s obsession with artifice and the construction of identity, subjects the artist investigated across all media until his untimely death in 1986.