Andy Warhol

Estate of Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., New York
Max Lang Gallery, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 2009

This work is in very good condition overall. There is evidence of very light wear along the edges including some minor and unobtrusive hairline craquelure at the pull margins. Under Ultraviolet light inspection, there is no evidence of restoration. Framed.
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.

Coolly realized in shades of gun-metal grey, the present work brusquely depicts a .32 snub-nose pistol, similar to the one used against Andy Warhol in 1964 when he was shot and almost killed by Valerie Solanas. Warhol’s fascination with power is evidenced throughout his oeuvre where he often used the subject of death or it’s implication to compliment, contextualize and humanize prominent social superstars such as Marilyn Monroe or Jackie Kennedy, or at other times depicting it more directly such as in his Electric Chairs, Skulls and Death and Disasters series. The powerful effect of Guns is, however, more personally significant for Warhol, resonating with an event that would stay with the artist for the rest of his life: “I don't know if I will ever be well again…Since I was shot, everything is such a dream to me. I don’t know what anything is about. Like, I don’t know whether I’m alive or whether I died. I wasn’t afraid before. And having been dead once, I shouldn’t feel fear. But I am afraid. I don’t understand why” (Victor Bockris, Warhol: the Biography, Boston, 2003, p. 311).

The present work is without doubt loaded with provocation. Yet despite its extremely personal implications, Warhol maintained that his paintings did not have a political agenda; instead he aimed to portray America as he saw it, creating social and cultural observations rather than commenting on their effect. Firearms have been a topic of explosive controversy and contentious debate in America for decades, yet we are presented with a side-on view of the weapon, neither being threatened nor invited by its presence. With a silvery lick of paint, Warhol coyly holds a mirror up to society, draws attention to some of its most extreme and prominent issues and allows the individual readings from different viewers to play out in their own accord. The gun is presented as a shimmering ethereal object that dissolves into its greyish ground and hypnotically rotates on its axis. Aimed both toward itself and into the surrounding space of the canvas, it is as much a symbol of American heroism, power and freedom as it is of death, violence and fear.