Andy Warhol

Galleria Luciano Anselmino, Milan
Private Collection, New York (acquired from the above circa 1976)
Thence by descent to the present owner

Ferrara, Palazzo dei Diamanti, Andy Warhol: Ladies and Gentlemen, September - November 1975, p. 105, illustrated in color
Milan, Galleria Luciano Anselmino, Andy Warhol: Ladies and Gentlemen, 1976, cat. no. 3, n.p., illustrated in color

Sally King-Nero and Neil Printz, Eds., The Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné: Paintings and Sculpture Late 1974-1976, Vol. 04, New York 2014, cat no. 2850, p. 92, illustrated in color  

This work is in very good condition overall. There is evidence of light wear and handling along the edges, including minor hairline craquelure at the pull margins with some associated losses at each corner and a partial hole to the canvas at the lower left corner. The canvas is slightly loose on its stretcher. Under very close inspection, scattered pinpoint drip accretions are visible in the figure’s headscarf and forehead, very minor and unobtrusive 1-inch cracks are visible in the figure’s middle finger and in the upper left and lower left corners and a few scattered pinpoint spot accretions are visible. Also under very close inspection, a minor and unobtrusive light abrasion is visible from the top of the figure’s head to the middle of her face. 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.
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Andy Warhol’s mid-1970s Polaroid portrait series recalls his early fixation with stardom and celebrity, while successfully addressing issues surrounding gender and identity following the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York. Aptly titled Ladies and Gentlemen, Warhol created this body of work at a time when the discourse on LGBT and women’s rights was particularly prevalent.

Warhol became famous in the 1960s for painting Liz Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Onassis— all symbols of American Post-War femininity. Significant developments in Women’s Liberation contributed to a cultural shift away from the classically defined heroines of American femininity, to whom Warhol dedicated much of his early career. As an astute chronicler of the later decades of 20th century America, Warhol responded to this shift and embraced it casting Candy Darling, Holly Woodlawn and Jackie Curtis as transgender characters in his satirical film titled Women in Revolt in his Factory. With both Gay Liberation and Women’s Liberation in full swing, Warhol discovered that the last bastions of glamour prevailed in the nightclubs of downtown New York City in the guise of drag queens.

In late 1974, the Italian art dealer Luciano Anselmino commissioned Warhol to paint 105 portraits of drag queens in four graduated sizes. The following year, the series was exhibited in Ferrara, Italy. Eager to continue exploring this subject matter beyond Anselmino’s original commission, Warhol more than doubled the number of portraits, working with fourteen separate models and taking over 500 Polaroids between the summer of 1974-1975. He also explored this subject in a variety of scales, from the most intimate 14 by 11 inch format to the grandest (as with the present work) measuring 50 by 40 inches, extending the subject matter beyond the realm of photographic reproduction and utilizing a more painterly approach. The bright colors and lush impasto are a departure from Warhol’s typically mechanized approach, individualizing each work within the larger series while offering the subjects a sense of purpose and identity.

The present work is a portrait of Wilhelmina Ross, a local drag queen and actress, who appears in 73 of Warhol’s portraits—more than any other drag queen from the series. She embodies the glamour that Warhol so intently sought to capture in these works. Ross’s portrait evokes Warhol’s early portrayals of ‘superstars’ in its quintessentially ‘Pop’ aesthetic, only replacing the industrial magnates, movie stars, and rock musicians of his early work with new depictions of glamour and femininity. Warhol endeavored to redefine perceptions of gender while calling attention to a significant yet marginalized community. Ladies and Gentlemen asserts the ‘drag queens’ of lower Manhattan as integral subjects within Warhol’s oeuvre of portraiture, rendering virtually anonymous individuals as equally worthy of his time and careful attention. “Drag queens are living testimony to the way women used to be to be, the way some people still want them to be, and the way some women will actually want to be. Drags are ambulatory archives of ideal movie star womanhood. They perform a documentary service, usually consecrating their lives to keeping the glittering alternative alive and available for (not-too-close) inspection” (Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again, New York 1975, p. 54).

This portrait well conveys Warhol’s nuanced, artistic process while underscoring the gender play at work—she is the essence of femininity, painted with thick, long eyelashes, and deep lipstick, delicately resting her hand on her neck. Ladies and Gentlemen (Wilhelmina Ross) offers a unique scenario in which role-play becomes a part of the picture’s narrative. Together, Warhol and Ross create a new American icon that is simultaneously hero and heroine, combining painting and photography techniques to undermine the ways in which gender was constructed and perceived in mid-1970s America.