Andy Warhol

Gift of the artist to the previous owner
By descent to the present owner

This work is in good condition overall. The canvas is unlined. The canvas is buckling slightly in the upper right side. There is some wear along the edge with some associated pigment loss, mostly in the lower left and right and upper left corners at the pull margin. There is some uneven pigmentation along the lower portion of the canvas due to the artist's working method. Unframed.
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.

In the late 1970’s, Studio 54 became one of the most well-known nightclubs in the world and played a formative role in both the growth of disco music and nightclub culture.  Andy Warhol was a regular fixture at the club, which was an icon of excess, drugs, and celebrity VIP’s.  Myra Scheer, the former assistant of the club’s co-owner Steve Rubell, recalled “Andy used to say that Studio 54 was a dictatorship at the door and a democracy inside — everyone was a star… Everyone was there to have fun. This was before the red carpet. Everyone mixed and danced. No one asked for autographs.” 

The present VIP Ticket was gifted by Andy Warhol to Thomas N. Armstrong III.  Armstrong was an ardent supporter of the artist’s work. From 1974-1990 he was the director of the Whitney Museum of American Art.  During his directorship and tenure at the Whitney, Armstrong quadrupled the size of the museum’s permanent collection and oversaw the seminal acquisition of Frank Stella’s black painting, Die Fahne Hoch!, Jasper Johns’ Three Flags, and Alexander Calder’s Circus. A show of portraits by Warhol was held in 1979 at the museum.   

Shortly following his time at the Whitney, Armstrong went on to become the director of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburg in 1993, a year prior to the museum’s opening. In describing Warhol’s process, Armstrong explained, “He harvested ideas from everything that was going on around him and thrived on a cacophony of experiences which he edited and then subjected to his own order,” (Robert J. Gangewere, Palace of Culture: Andrew Carnegie's Museums and Library in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, 2011, p. 268).