Beschreibung:

*6.75 liter V-8 engine *Three-speed automatic transmission *First Rolls-Royce to employ monocoque construction *Documented Warhol provenance *Kept by Warhol until his death *Three owners from new Andy Warhol was one of the first artists to successfully mix his commercial career with his artistic passions, vaulting him to the top of the pop art movement and making him a wealthy man in his own time. His 1960s prints and painting of celebrities and soup cans cemented him in the art world as one of his generation's most influential artists. Not just a great artist, Warhol had an incredible knack for fostering his commercial interests, aligning himself with a number of famous patrons such as Liza Minnelli, John Lennon Mick Jagger, and even the Shah of Iran. It was during his most entrepreneurial period that Warhol decided to buy himself the most luxurious car money could buy—a 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. The Silver Shadow represented a complete break with tradition when introduced, being the first of the Crewe factory's models to employ unitary construction. The latter freed the body designers from the constraints of a separate chassis and permitted a reduction in overall height and weight without loss of either rigidity or capacity. All-round independent suspension was another new introduction, and production cars boasted a roofline 4" lower than that of the preceding Silver Cloud. The new styling appealed to the younger generation of Rolls-Royce owners more prevalent from the mid-1960s onwards and enabled the company to keep abreast of fashion. The power unit was the well-tried 90-degree V8 introduced on the Silver Cloud II. Warhol's Silver Shadow was ordered on October 14th, 1974 from a dealer in New Jersey, specifying Walnut over Black paint and a Black leather interior. The total was $9,883. Andy never had a driver's license, however, so he was always a passenger. Most of the time, Warhol's close friend Jed Johnson would man the tiller, but it was not unlikely for one of Warhol's famous cohorts, such as the aforementioned Liza Minnelli, Truman Capote, or Imelda Marcos, to act as chauffeur. Warhol kept the Rolls for the rest of his life, keeping it in the garage of his Park Avenue apartment. Following his death in February 1987, the Rolls, along with the rest of his estate, was offered at auction in April 1988. It took nine days to sell the contents of his estate, with the proceeds going to benefit the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The Rolls was offered as the last lot on the second day of the sale and sold for an astounding $77,000, more than five times the low estimate, to LA art dealer George Meyers—it was the most expensive item sold on that day. The vendor, who had underbid the car at the sale, purchased it from Mr Meyers in 1990. Since then, the car has been carefully cared for and maintained—all of the service records detailing maintenance since 1990 are included. Additionally, letters about the car from Warhol biographer Victor Bockris and Warhol cohort Ultra Violet, a copy of the original purchase order from Rolls-Royce, a copy of the invoice from the 1988 sale, and a copy of the title Warhol Enterprises title are included. Andy Warhol has matured in the art world to become one of the most sought after artists, with his works exceeding $100 million in value. Through that lens, this is a relative bargain to get a piece of one of the 20th century's greatest artists.