Premium pages left without account:

Auction archive: Lot number 97

Andy Warhol

Photographs
4 Apr 2012
Estimate
US$50,000 - US$70,000
Price realised:
US$74,500
Auction archive: Lot number 97

Andy Warhol

Photographs
4 Apr 2012
Estimate
US$50,000 - US$70,000
Price realised:
US$74,500
Beschreibung:

Andy Warhol Holly Solomon 1963-1964 Seven unique gelatin silver photobooth prints. Each 7 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (19.7 x 3.8 cm); 7 3/4 x 12 1/2 in. (19.7 x 31.8 cm) overall. One print initialed 'T.J.H.' by Timothy J. Hunt of the Andy Warhol Foundation in pencil on the verso; each print with Estate of Andy Warhol stamps on the verso.
Literature Angell, Andy Warhol Screen Tests: The Films of Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné, p. 189, for variants Éditions Stemmle, Andy Warhol Photography, pp. 94, 96-99; for variants Indiana, Andy Warhol Photobooth Pictures, pp. 2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 13, 17 Catalogue Essay In 1964, Holly Solomon, a beautiful New Yorker, avid art-collector and aspiring actress, wished to have her portrait done by master photographer Richard Avedon for stage purposes. "Great artists [were] now doing imagery," she stated in a later interview, "click!-you know, it makes sense to have them do your portrait." However, upon learning of Avedon's fee of $12,000, Solomon decided to look elsewhere. Instead, she thought, "why not ask Roy Lichtenstein and Andy [...] and somebody else, named Rauschenberg," referring to the artists whose works she and husband, Horace, had already included in their collection. The original commission intended for Warhol to silkscreen wallpaper in Solomon's image. However, turned off by Warhol's fee of $6,000, which she found too steep for wallpaper, her portrait was finally executed by Roy Lichtenstein who portrayed her as a comic-strip protagonist in his painting I...I'm sorry, 1965-66. Delighted with the result, Solomon went to Leo Castelli Gallery, whom at the time represented both Lichtenstein and Warhol, to pay for the commission from Lichtenstein. "This is the money for the portrait," she told Castelli's assistant, David Whitney. Misguided, Whitney believed Solomon had changed her mind about the Warhol portrait, and called Warhol to let him know that Solomon'sinterest in having her portrait done by him was renewed, this time as a silkscreen on canvas, a technique that Warhol had already gained fame for in his portraits of Pop Culture icons Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. By the time Solomon got back home, Warhol called, "Oh, Hol, " he said excitedly, we're going to do the portrait." Delighted by the unexpected turn of events, Solomon complied. All that was then required was a photograph on which the final portrait would be based. The two met on 42nd street, famous for its Broadway spectacles and a befitting location for Warhol's own fascination with glamour and Solomon's aspiration as an actress. Warhol, Solomon recalled, was picky about the photobooth: "he did pick precisely the photobooth, and he explained to me that he wanted dark and light to be quite clear." After spending a brief amount of time with Solomon, Warhol left Solomon alone in the booth. Sitting and posing for the camera with no instructions was initially tedious for Solomon. However, having taken classes with Lee Strasberg, the legendary acting teacher, Solomon began drawing from a great mental catalogue of poses and facial expressions. For hours she alternated between smiling, laughing, pouting, demurring, seducing, flirting, flipping her hair, turning her head, looking askance, clasping her hands, and stroking her coat. The final product, an inventory of roles that Solomon inhabited with vigor and creativity, was handed over to Warhol to chose for the final image. The timing of the work is of importance for it pre-empted the Women's Liberation movement of the 1970s. "In the 60s there were rules," Solomon recalled, "if you were an intelligent woman, you were an upset woman. Truly upset. You had to be thin. We grew up with all these rules." And yet, in the body of work presented in the current lot, the opinionated Sarah Lawrence graduate was given a tabula rasa to freely exude as much energy in any direction she wanted, free of judgment. Without instructions and expectations, she allowed her every accessible self to emerge in an expressive andcandid mosaic. Indeed, of Warhol's final portrait Solomon stated, "It really is an icon of this liberated woman, who is just trying very hard to be liberated." In Solomon's case, it was her unfulfilled dream of reaching Hollywood superstardom that she was able to unleash. "I wanted to be Brigitte Bardot," she muse

Auction archive: Lot number 97
Auction:
Datum:
4 Apr 2012
Auction house:
Phillips
New York
Beschreibung:

Andy Warhol Holly Solomon 1963-1964 Seven unique gelatin silver photobooth prints. Each 7 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (19.7 x 3.8 cm); 7 3/4 x 12 1/2 in. (19.7 x 31.8 cm) overall. One print initialed 'T.J.H.' by Timothy J. Hunt of the Andy Warhol Foundation in pencil on the verso; each print with Estate of Andy Warhol stamps on the verso.
Literature Angell, Andy Warhol Screen Tests: The Films of Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné, p. 189, for variants Éditions Stemmle, Andy Warhol Photography, pp. 94, 96-99; for variants Indiana, Andy Warhol Photobooth Pictures, pp. 2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 13, 17 Catalogue Essay In 1964, Holly Solomon, a beautiful New Yorker, avid art-collector and aspiring actress, wished to have her portrait done by master photographer Richard Avedon for stage purposes. "Great artists [were] now doing imagery," she stated in a later interview, "click!-you know, it makes sense to have them do your portrait." However, upon learning of Avedon's fee of $12,000, Solomon decided to look elsewhere. Instead, she thought, "why not ask Roy Lichtenstein and Andy [...] and somebody else, named Rauschenberg," referring to the artists whose works she and husband, Horace, had already included in their collection. The original commission intended for Warhol to silkscreen wallpaper in Solomon's image. However, turned off by Warhol's fee of $6,000, which she found too steep for wallpaper, her portrait was finally executed by Roy Lichtenstein who portrayed her as a comic-strip protagonist in his painting I...I'm sorry, 1965-66. Delighted with the result, Solomon went to Leo Castelli Gallery, whom at the time represented both Lichtenstein and Warhol, to pay for the commission from Lichtenstein. "This is the money for the portrait," she told Castelli's assistant, David Whitney. Misguided, Whitney believed Solomon had changed her mind about the Warhol portrait, and called Warhol to let him know that Solomon'sinterest in having her portrait done by him was renewed, this time as a silkscreen on canvas, a technique that Warhol had already gained fame for in his portraits of Pop Culture icons Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. By the time Solomon got back home, Warhol called, "Oh, Hol, " he said excitedly, we're going to do the portrait." Delighted by the unexpected turn of events, Solomon complied. All that was then required was a photograph on which the final portrait would be based. The two met on 42nd street, famous for its Broadway spectacles and a befitting location for Warhol's own fascination with glamour and Solomon's aspiration as an actress. Warhol, Solomon recalled, was picky about the photobooth: "he did pick precisely the photobooth, and he explained to me that he wanted dark and light to be quite clear." After spending a brief amount of time with Solomon, Warhol left Solomon alone in the booth. Sitting and posing for the camera with no instructions was initially tedious for Solomon. However, having taken classes with Lee Strasberg, the legendary acting teacher, Solomon began drawing from a great mental catalogue of poses and facial expressions. For hours she alternated between smiling, laughing, pouting, demurring, seducing, flirting, flipping her hair, turning her head, looking askance, clasping her hands, and stroking her coat. The final product, an inventory of roles that Solomon inhabited with vigor and creativity, was handed over to Warhol to chose for the final image. The timing of the work is of importance for it pre-empted the Women's Liberation movement of the 1970s. "In the 60s there were rules," Solomon recalled, "if you were an intelligent woman, you were an upset woman. Truly upset. You had to be thin. We grew up with all these rules." And yet, in the body of work presented in the current lot, the opinionated Sarah Lawrence graduate was given a tabula rasa to freely exude as much energy in any direction she wanted, free of judgment. Without instructions and expectations, she allowed her every accessible self to emerge in an expressive andcandid mosaic. Indeed, of Warhol's final portrait Solomon stated, "It really is an icon of this liberated woman, who is just trying very hard to be liberated." In Solomon's case, it was her unfulfilled dream of reaching Hollywood superstardom that she was able to unleash. "I wanted to be Brigitte Bardot," she muse

Auction archive: Lot number 97
Auction:
Datum:
4 Apr 2012
Auction house:
Phillips
New York
Try LotSearch

Try LotSearch and its premium features for 7 days - without any costs!

  • Search lots and bid
  • Price database and artist analysis
  • Alerts for your searches
Create an alert now!

Be notified automatically about new items in upcoming auctions.

Create an alert