史圖特文

Binoche, Paris, March 3, 1999, Lot 84
Private Collection, Paris (acquired from the above)
Artcurial, Paris, December 2, 2014, Lot 319
Acquired by the present owner from the above

This painting is in excellent condition. Light rubbing and wear is evident along the overturn edges, especially at the corner tips with corresponding extremely thin hairline cracking. There are two minute light brown liquid accretions along the bottom edge toward center, below the figure's proper right neckline as well as an additional accretion, 1/8" in diameter, located in the figure's hair right of center which has been tested and can be removed. Under ultraviolet light there are no apparent restorations. The canvas is framed in a wood frame painted white with a 2 ½ inch float.
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.

"Warhol Marilyn holds a special place in [Sturtevant's] repertoire... The work is suggestive as an avatar for the figure she cut over the five decades of her art career. Sometimes popular, at other times vilified, consistently notorious and latterly applauded, Sturtevant, Monroe, the painting Marilyn by Warhol and Sturtevant's Warhol Marilyn operate in a feedback loop prompting questions not only in regard to the copy but also concerning celebrity, iconicity, and gender...

In 1965, Elaine Sturtevant approached Andy Warhol with a proposition. Warhol had all but retired from painting in order to focus more on film-making, and on holding court amongst celebrities and hipsters in his foil-lined Factory in Lower Manhattan. Sturtevant was a fledgling artist, a member of Robert Rauschenberg's entourage, an ex-prop stylist in the commercial art world and a socialite of sorts who had dinner parties in her fashionable Upper East Side townhouse.

Sturtevant requested to use Warhol's Marilyn silkscreen. She would later attest that Warhol acquiesced, and that his assistant instructed her to 'take whatever Marilyn I wanted'. She was unable to find the stencil for Marilyn in Warhol's loft... [Sturtevant]: 'I decided to find the original [Marilyn] Hollywood still, one chance in a million and I found it. I took it to Andy's silkscreen man and it was perfect. A Warhol screen from my photo which was his photo.'

Sturtevant claimed that later, when asked how he made his silkscreened works, Warhol told people to 'ask Elaine.'"

Patricia Lee, Sturtevant: Warhol Marilyn, London, 2016, pp. 19-20