AN ANDY WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT PURCHASED IN 1963 FOR $1,600 ON AN INSTALLMENT PLAN IS POISED TO FETCH $30 MILLION OR MORE WHEN IT GOES ON THE AUCTION BLOCK AT CHRISTIE'S IN MAY. 'SELF-PORTRAIT', A FOUR-PANEL ACRYLIC SILKSCREEN DEPICTING THE POP ARTIST WEARING A TRENCH COAT AND SUNGLASSES, IS BEING SOLD BY THE FAMILY OF DETROIT COLLECTOR FLORENCE BARRON. BARRON FIRST COMMISSIONED WARHOL TO PAINT HER PORTRAIT, BUT CHANGED HER MIND AND SUGGESTED THE YOUNG ARTIST DEPICT HIMSELF, TELLING HIM, 'NOBODY KNOWS ME...THEY WANT TO SEE YOU'. THE RESULT WAS WARHOL'S FIRST SELF PORTRAIT, FOUR IMAGES TAKEN IN A COIN-OPERATED PHOTO-BOOTH RENDERED IN HUES OF BLUE. 'MY MOTHER DIDN'T LOOK AT COLLECTING IN TERMS OF 'IS THIS IMPORTANT OT NOT IMPORTANT', GUY BARRON TOLD REUTERS. SHE LOOKED AT IT FROM THE STANDPOINT OF WHAT RESONATED WITH HER, AND OF 'I WANT TO LIVE WITH IT', IT WAS NOT DONE AS SOME PEOPLE DO TODAY, AS WALL POWER.' THE PORTRAIT GRACED THE LIVING ROOM WALL OF THE FAMILY HOME IN DETROIT. IT ALSO WENT ON PUBLIC DISPLAY, SERVING AS THE COVER IMAGE FOR CATALOGS FROM MAJOR WARHOL EXHIBITIONS AND RETROSPECTIVES AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART IN NEW YORK AND THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM IN BILBAO, SPAIN. BRETT GORVY, CHRISTIE'S INTERNATIONAL CO-HEAD AND DEPUTY CHAIRMAN FOR POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART, SAID THE WORK MARKED THE BEGINNING OF WARHOL'S OWN STARDOM. 'WITH DARK GLASSES AN OBLIVIOUS GAZE, WARHOL WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME IN CREATING A NEW ARCHETYPE OF GLAMOR', GORVY SAID. 'THE PAINTING IS REMARKABLE NOT ONLY FOR ITS VISUAL IMPACT AND THE INTRODUCTION OF THE PHOTO-BOOTH GENRE, BUT FOR MARKING A KEY MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF ART, WHEN WARHOL TAKES HIS PLACE IN THE PANTHEON OF CELEBRITY ALONGSIDE MARILYN, ELIZABETH AND ELVIS.' BARRON, WHOSE FAMILY INCLUDES TWO MARRIED SONS AND SEVERAL GRANDCHILDREN, SAID THEY WERE AUCTIONING THE WORK BECAUSE 'DIVIDING IS NOT POSSIBLE, SO SELLING MAKES THE MOST SENSE.' THE RECORD FOR A WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT IS $32.6 MILLION SET LAST MAY AT SOTHEBY'S IN NEW YORK. THE RECORD PRICE FOR ANY WARHOL SOLD AT AUCTION IS 'GREEN CAR CRASH (GREEN BURNING CAR I)' WHICH CHRISTIE'S SOLD FOR $71.7 IN 2007.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT

AN ANDY WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT PURCHASED IN 1963 FOR $1,600 ON AN INSTALLMENT PLAN IS POISED TO FETCH $30 MILLION OR MORE WHEN IT GOES ON THE AUCTION BLOCK AT CHRISTIE'S IN MAY. 'SELF-PORTRAIT', A FOUR-PANEL ACRYLIC SILKSCREEN DEPICTING THE POP ARTIST WEARING A TRENCH COAT AND SUNGLASSES, IS BEING SOLD BY THE FAMILY OF DETROIT COLLECTOR FLORENCE BARRON. BARRON FIRST COMMISSIONED WARHOL TO PAINT HER PORTRAIT, BUT CHANGED HER MIND AND SUGGESTED THE YOUNG ARTIST DEPICT HIMSELF, TELLING HIM, 'NOBODY KNOWS ME...THEY WANT TO SEE YOU'. THE RESULT WAS WARHOL'S FIRST SELF PORTRAIT, FOUR IMAGES TAKEN IN A COIN-OPERATED PHOTO-BOOTH RENDERED IN HUES OF BLUE. 'MY MOTHER DIDN'T LOOK AT COLLECTING IN TERMS OF 'IS THIS IMPORTANT OT NOT IMPORTANT', GUY BARRON TOLD REUTERS. SHE LOOKED AT IT FROM THE STANDPOINT OF WHAT RESONATED WITH HER, AND OF 'I WANT TO LIVE WITH IT', IT WAS NOT DONE AS SOME PEOPLE DO TODAY, AS WALL POWER.' THE PORTRAIT GRACED THE LIVING ROOM WALL OF THE FAMILY HOME IN DETROIT. IT ALSO WENT ON PUBLIC DISPLAY, SERVING AS THE COVER IMAGE FOR CATALOGS FROM MAJOR WARHOL EXHIBITIONS AND RETROSPECTIVES AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART IN NEW YORK AND THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM IN BILBAO, SPAIN. BRETT GORVY, CHRISTIE'S INTERNATIONAL CO-HEAD AND DEPUTY CHAIRMAN FOR POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART, SAID THE WORK MARKED THE BEGINNING OF WARHOL'S OWN STARDOM. 'WITH DARK GLASSES AN OBLIVIOUS GAZE, WARHOL WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME IN CREATING A NEW ARCHETYPE OF GLAMOR', GORVY SAID. 'THE PAINTING IS REMARKABLE NOT ONLY FOR ITS VISUAL IMPACT AND THE INTRODUCTION OF THE PHOTO-BOOTH GENRE, BUT FOR MARKING A KEY MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF ART, WHEN WARHOL TAKES HIS PLACE IN THE PANTHEON OF CELEBRITY ALONGSIDE MARILYN, ELIZABETH AND ELVIS.' BARRON, WHOSE FAMILY INCLUDES TWO MARRIED SONS AND SEVERAL GRANDCHILDREN, SAID THEY WERE AUCTIONING THE WORK BECAUSE 'DIVIDING IS NOT POSSIBLE, SO SELLING MAKES THE MOST SENSE.' THE RECORD FOR A WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT IS $32.6 MILLION SET LAST MAY AT SOTHEBY'S IN NEW YORK. THE RECORD PRICE FOR ANY WARHOL SOLD AT AUCTION IS 'GREEN CAR CRASH (GREEN BURNING CAR I)' WHICH CHRISTIE'S SOLD FOR $71.7 IN 2007.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT

PUBLIC ART FUND PRESENTS ROB PRUITT'S THE ANDY MONUMENT, 30.MARCH-2.OCTOBER, AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF UNION SQUARE. THE MONUMENT TO ANDY WARHOL, THE FATHER OF POP ART AND ONE OF NEW YORK'S ENDURING CULTURAL ICONS IS INSTALLED JUST OUTSIDE THE BUILDING THAT HOUSED WARHOL'S 'FACTORY' FOR MORE THAN TEN YEARS IN THE 1970s AND EARLY 1980s, AND JUST DOWN THE STREET FROM AN EARLIER 'FACTORY' SITE. 'WE ARE THRILLED TO BE COLLABORATING WITH ROB, WHOSE WORK HAS EXACTLY THE SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY AND ENGAGEMENT THAT LENDS ITSELF SO WELL TO PUBLIC ART', SAID NICKOLAS BAUME, PUBLIC ART FUND DIRECTOR AND CHIEF CURATOR. 'INSPIRED BY WARHOL AND HIS STORY, ROB MOVED TO NEW YORK AS A YOUNG MAN AND EVEN MET WARHOL WHEN HE VISITED THE 'FACTORY' TO INTERVIEW FOR A JOB. ROB'S MEMORY OF THE ARTIST THAT DAY FORMED THE VISION FOR THIS SCULPTURE, AND I THINK THAT PERSONAL CONNECTION WILL RESONATE WITH MANY WHO COME TO VISIT, JUST AS IT DOES WITH ME.' PRUITT ENVISIONS THE MONUMENT AS A PILGRIMAGE SITE THAT EMBODIES THE SPIRIT OF WARHOL AND THE DOWNTOWN CULTURAL MOVEMENT. 'EVERY DAY A THOUSAND MORE KIDS COME TO NEW YORK PROPELLED BY HIS LEGACY. AND EVEN IF THE DECADES PASS AND WARHOL'S LEGACY BECOMES FURTHER DISTANT, THERE IS A DIRECT LINK TO HIM, LIKE THIS PILGRIMAGE, COMING HERE TO MAKE IT BIG, TO BE AN ARTIST', SAID PRUITT. 'LIKE OSCAR WILDE'S GRAVE AT PERE LACHAISE, THERE SHOULD BE A DESTINATION IN NEW YORK TO MARK THE JOURNEY. I THINK SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE IN THE STREETS OF NEW YORK, SOMETHING YOU COULD VISIT AT 4:30 IN THE MORNING.' ADAPTING THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF FORMAL STATUARY, LIKE THE NEARBY MONUMENTS TO GANDHI, LINCOLN AND WASHINGTON, THE SEVEN FOOT TALL FIGURE STANDS ATOP A CONCRETE PEDESTAL, ITS CHROMED SURFACE REFLECTING THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE WARHOL WORKED FOR MUCH OF HIS LIFE: MAX's KANSAS CITY, A FAVORITE WARHOL HANGOUT, ONCE STOOD NEARBY, INTERVIEW MAGAZINE WAS LAUNCHED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND VALERIE SOLANAS ATTEMPTED HER ASSASSINATION OF WARHOL HERE.

PUBLIC ART FUND PRESENTS ROB PRUITT'S THE ANDY MONUMENT

PUBLIC ART FUND PRESENTS ROB PRUITT'S THE ANDY MONUMENT, 30.MARCH-2.OCTOBER, AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF UNION SQUARE. THE MONUMENT TO ANDY WARHOL, THE FATHER OF POP ART AND ONE OF NEW YORK'S ENDURING CULTURAL ICONS IS INSTALLED JUST OUTSIDE THE BUILDING THAT HOUSED WARHOL'S 'FACTORY' FOR MORE THAN TEN YEARS IN THE 1970s AND EARLY 1980s, AND JUST DOWN THE STREET FROM AN EARLIER 'FACTORY' SITE. 'WE ARE THRILLED TO BE COLLABORATING WITH ROB, WHOSE WORK HAS EXACTLY THE SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY AND ENGAGEMENT THAT LENDS ITSELF SO WELL TO PUBLIC ART', SAID NICKOLAS BAUME, PUBLIC ART FUND DIRECTOR AND CHIEF CURATOR. 'INSPIRED BY WARHOL AND HIS STORY, ROB MOVED TO NEW YORK AS A YOUNG MAN AND EVEN MET WARHOL WHEN HE VISITED THE 'FACTORY' TO INTERVIEW FOR A JOB. ROB'S MEMORY OF THE ARTIST THAT DAY FORMED THE VISION FOR THIS SCULPTURE, AND I THINK THAT PERSONAL CONNECTION WILL RESONATE WITH MANY WHO COME TO VISIT, JUST AS IT DOES WITH ME.' PRUITT ENVISIONS THE MONUMENT AS A PILGRIMAGE SITE THAT EMBODIES THE SPIRIT OF WARHOL AND THE DOWNTOWN CULTURAL MOVEMENT. 'EVERY DAY A THOUSAND MORE KIDS COME TO NEW YORK PROPELLED BY HIS LEGACY. AND EVEN IF THE DECADES PASS AND WARHOL'S LEGACY BECOMES FURTHER DISTANT, THERE IS A DIRECT LINK TO HIM, LIKE THIS PILGRIMAGE, COMING HERE TO MAKE IT BIG, TO BE AN ARTIST', SAID PRUITT. 'LIKE OSCAR WILDE'S GRAVE AT PERE LACHAISE, THERE SHOULD BE A DESTINATION IN NEW YORK TO MARK THE JOURNEY. I THINK SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE IN THE STREETS OF NEW YORK, SOMETHING YOU COULD VISIT AT 4:30 IN THE MORNING.' ADAPTING THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF FORMAL STATUARY, LIKE THE NEARBY MONUMENTS TO GANDHI, LINCOLN AND WASHINGTON, THE SEVEN FOOT TALL FIGURE STANDS ATOP A CONCRETE PEDESTAL, ITS CHROMED SURFACE REFLECTING THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE WARHOL WORKED FOR MUCH OF HIS LIFE: MAX's KANSAS CITY, A FAVORITE WARHOL HANGOUT, ONCE STOOD NEARBY, INTERVIEW MAGAZINE WAS LAUNCHED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND VALERIE SOLANAS ATTEMPTED HER ASSASSINATION OF WARHOL HERE.

PUBLIC ART FUND PRESENTS ROB PRUITT'S THE ANDY MONUMENT

A SELF-PORTRAIT BY ANDY WARHOL HAS SOLD FOR $17 MILLION, DOUBLE ITS PRE-SALE ESTIMATE. CHRISTIE'S LONDON SAYS THE WORK HAS BEEN IN A PRIVATE COLLECTION SINCE 1974. IT IS ONE OF A SERIES OF 11 SELF-PORTRAITS WARHOL CREATED. THE IMAGE OF RED AND WHITE SILKSCREEN INK ON CANVAS SHOWS THE ARTIST WITH HIS HAND TO HIS MOUTH. IT WAS EXECUTED IN 1967, AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS CAREER AS THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGURE IN AMERICAN POP ART. CHRISTIE'S SAYS THE PORTRAIT WAS BOUGHT BY AN ANONYMOUS BIDDER IN ITS LONDON AUCTION ROOM WEDNESDAY. THE IMAGE OF WARHOL WITH HIS TO HIS MOUTH IS ONE OF THE MOST REPRESENTATIVE AND ICONIC IMAGES OF THE ARTIST. WARHOL FIRST USED THE IMAGE FOR A GROUP OF WORKS IN 1966 PAINTED IN A MUCH SMALLER, LIFE-SIZE SCALE. THE FOLLOWING YEAR HE USED THE SAME IMAGE IN PRODUCING 11 MONUMENTAL WORKS IN A LARGE-SCALE FORMAT OF SIX FOOT SQUARE, OF WHICH THE PRESENT EXAMPLE IS ONE. SIX WORKS FROM THE SERIES WERE EXHIBITED IN THE AMERICAN PAVILION AT THE 1967 INTERNATIONAL AND UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION IN MONTREAL WHICH WAS VISITED BY TENS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE, AND WHICH SAW THE PORTRAITS DOMINATE AN EXHIBITION INCLUDING WORKS BY JASPER JOHNS, ROY LICHTENSTEIN, BARNETT NEWMAN AND ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG. BY 1967 WARHOL HAD REACHED A POINT IN HIS CAREER WHEN HE WAS INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE IN AMERICAN POP ART . THE PRESENT SERIES OF SELF-PORTRAITS REPRESENT THE HIGH POINT OF HIS CAREER WHEN HE HAS ACHIEVED GREAT WEALTH AND FAME, AND WHEN AS A CELEBRITY HE BRASHLY AND CONFIDENTLY PRESENTED HIS OWN IMAGE IN A TRULY MONUMENTAL FASHION TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE OF MILLION.

CHRISTIE'S SELLS WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT FOR $17 MILLION

A SELF-PORTRAIT BY ANDY WARHOL HAS SOLD FOR $17 MILLION, DOUBLE ITS PRE-SALE ESTIMATE. CHRISTIE'S LONDON SAYS THE WORK HAS BEEN IN A PRIVATE COLLECTION SINCE 1974. IT IS ONE OF A SERIES OF 11 SELF-PORTRAITS WARHOL CREATED. THE IMAGE OF RED AND WHITE SILKSCREEN INK ON CANVAS SHOWS THE ARTIST WITH HIS HAND TO HIS MOUTH. IT WAS EXECUTED IN 1967, AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS CAREER AS THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGURE IN AMERICAN POP ART. CHRISTIE'S SAYS THE PORTRAIT WAS BOUGHT BY AN ANONYMOUS BIDDER IN ITS LONDON AUCTION ROOM WEDNESDAY. THE IMAGE OF WARHOL WITH HIS TO HIS MOUTH IS ONE OF THE MOST REPRESENTATIVE AND ICONIC IMAGES OF THE ARTIST. WARHOL FIRST USED THE IMAGE FOR A GROUP OF WORKS IN 1966 PAINTED IN A MUCH SMALLER, LIFE-SIZE SCALE. THE FOLLOWING YEAR HE USED THE SAME IMAGE IN PRODUCING 11 MONUMENTAL WORKS IN A LARGE-SCALE FORMAT OF SIX FOOT SQUARE, OF WHICH THE PRESENT EXAMPLE IS ONE. SIX WORKS FROM THE SERIES WERE EXHIBITED IN THE AMERICAN PAVILION AT THE 1967 INTERNATIONAL AND UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION IN MONTREAL WHICH WAS VISITED BY TENS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE, AND WHICH SAW THE PORTRAITS DOMINATE AN EXHIBITION INCLUDING WORKS BY JASPER JOHNS, ROY LICHTENSTEIN, BARNETT NEWMAN AND ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG. BY 1967 WARHOL HAD REACHED A POINT IN HIS CAREER WHEN HE WAS INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE IN AMERICAN POP ART . THE PRESENT SERIES OF SELF-PORTRAITS REPRESENT THE HIGH POINT OF HIS CAREER WHEN HE HAS ACHIEVED GREAT WEALTH AND FAME, AND WHEN AS A CELEBRITY HE BRASHLY AND CONFIDENTLY PRESENTED HIS OWN IMAGE IN A TRULY MONUMENTAL FASHION TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE OF MILLION.

CHRISTIE'S SELLS WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT FOR $17 MILLION

THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART, ATLANTA, WILL CONTINUE ITS COLLABORATION WITH THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (MOMA), NEW YORK, WITH THE EXCLUSIVE PRESENTATION OF THE MAJOR EXHIBITION 'PICASSO TO WARHOL: TWELVE MODERN MASTERS' BEGINNING IN OCTOBER 2011. THE EXHIBITION WILL PRESENT APPROXIMATELY 100 WORKS OF ART CREATED BY 12 OF THE MOST ICONIC ARTISTS FROM THE 20th CENTURY; PABLO PICASSO, HENRI MATISSE, CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI, PIET MONDRIAN, FERNAND LEGER, MARCEL DUCHAMP, GIORGIO DE CHIRICO, JOAN MIRO, ALEXANDER CALDER, JACKSON POLLOCK, JASPER JOHNS AND ANDY WARHOL. 'PICASSO TO WARHOL ' WILL BE ONE OF THE LARGEST CONCENTRATIONS OF MODERN ART MASTERPIECES TO EVER BE EXHIBITED IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES. CO-ORGANIZED BY THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART AND MOMA, THE EXHIBITION WILL BE ON VIEW ONLY IN ATLANTA FROM 15.OCTOBER THROUGH 29.APRIL.2012.

HIGH MUSEUM OF ART TO PRESENT 'PICASSO TO WARHOL: TWELVE MODERN MASTERS'

THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART, ATLANTA, WILL CONTINUE ITS COLLABORATION WITH THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (MOMA), NEW YORK, WITH THE EXCLUSIVE PRESENTATION OF THE MAJOR EXHIBITION 'PICASSO TO WARHOL: TWELVE MODERN MASTERS' BEGINNING IN OCTOBER 2011. THE EXHIBITION WILL PRESENT APPROXIMATELY 100 WORKS OF ART CREATED BY 12 OF THE MOST ICONIC ARTISTS FROM THE 20th CENTURY; PABLO PICASSO, HENRI MATISSE, CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI, PIET MONDRIAN, FERNAND LEGER, MARCEL DUCHAMP, GIORGIO DE CHIRICO, JOAN MIRO, ALEXANDER CALDER, JACKSON POLLOCK, JASPER JOHNS AND ANDY WARHOL. 'PICASSO TO WARHOL ' WILL BE ONE OF THE LARGEST CONCENTRATIONS OF MODERN ART MASTERPIECES TO EVER BE EXHIBITED IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES. CO-ORGANIZED BY THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART AND MOMA, THE EXHIBITION WILL BE ON VIEW ONLY IN ATLANTA FROM 15.OCTOBER THROUGH 29.APRIL.2012.

HIGH MUSEUM OF ART TO PRESENT 'PICASSO TO WARHOL: TWELVE MODERN MASTERS'

A RARE ANDY WARHOL SELF PORTRAIT IN STARK WHITE AND RED, WHICH HAD BEEN IN [PRIVATE HANDS FOR OVER 30 YEARS, WILL GO ON SALE AT CHRISTIE'S IN LONDON NEXT MONTH, ANCHORING THE AUCTIONEER'S POST WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART OFFERING. THE UNUSUALLY LARGE CANVAS, 6 FEET BY 6 FEET FEATURES THE PENSIVE ARTIST STARRING STRAIGHT AT THE VIEWER BUT WITH HALF HIS FACE SWALLOWED IN A SHADOW OF BLOOD RED PAINT. ONE OF 11 SELF PORTRAITS IN THE 1967 SERIES, IT IS THE ONLY ONE RESTRICTED TO TWO COLOURS. CHRISTIE'S ESTIMATES A GAVEL PRICE OF £3 TO £5 MILLION FOR THE PAINTING. 'THIS IS ONE OF THE MISSING PIECES OF THE HOLY GRAIL', SAID AMY CAPPELLAZZO, CHRISTIE'S CO-HEAD OF CONTEMPORARY AND POST WAR ART. IT WAS PUT UP FOR SALE BY THE ESTATE OF THE PAINTING'S PURCHASER, WHO IS NOW DECEASED, SHE ADDED. WARHOL WAS AT THE HEIGHT OF CELEBRITY WHEN HE FIRST EXHIBITED THE PAINTING ALONG WITH 10 OTHER PORTRAITS AT THE MONTREAL, CANADA 1967 WORLD'S FAIR, KNOWN AS EXPO 67. THE SELF-PORTRAIT DISAPPEARED FROM VIEW AFTER IT WAS OUGHT IN 1974 FROM WARHOL'S MAIN DEALER, LEO CASTELLI. THE WARHOL IS PART OF CHRISTIE'S POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART AUCTION ON 16-17.FEBRUARY IN LONDON, COMPRISED OF 64 WORKS AND ESTIMATED AT A TOTAL OF £66.4 MILLION.

CHRISTIE'S TO SELL RARE WARHOL SELF-PORTRAIT