Beginning October 30th, Eykyn Maclean will be taking a look at Andy Warhol’s Flowers series, a body of work that has had a determinative effect on the artist’s market and the entire Contemporary art market in the 21st Century:

Gallery Director Kristy Bryce explains,“This show will bring together prime examples of Warhol’s Flowers in a variety of media to explore the series in a depth not previously addressed in an exhibition format.”

Warhol began work on his Flowers series in the summer of 1964, soon deciding that it would be the focus for his first show with Leo Castelli in the fall of that year. For the Castelli show, he worked on 48- and 24-inch square canvases. For his following show, at the Sonnabend Gallery in Paris in the spring of 1965, he included additional sizes – 14-, 8-, and 5-inch squares. The square format allowed Warhol complete freedom with orientation. For the first time, his works had no fixed upright, allowing the Flowers to be installed in a variety of ways. Another unique aspect to this series is the different techniques and media he explored, including silkscreen, pencil, hand painted acrylics, and fluorescent Day-Glo paint. Eykyn Maclean will include examples of each of these sizes and techniques to trace the nuances of the development within this important series. Also included will be the only surviving banner (a Flowers painting on red fabric) that Warhol made for the 1965 opening of New York City’s Peace Eye Bookstore.

Unlike Warhol’s work prior to this point – which drew upon images in the mass media as well as commercial brands– Warhol turned to a different source: a spread in a magazine called Modern Photography. The magazine’s June 1964 issue featured a photograph of seven hibiscus flowers taken by executive editor Patricia Caulfield, printed three times in a glossy foldout to show the color variation of different chemical processes. The serial format undoubtedly appealed to Warhol’s sensibility. To create the composition for his paintings, he cropped Caulfield’s photograph into a perfect square, manipulating the flowers so that four of the original seven fit into this new square format. His unauthorized use of another artist’s photograph, however, landed him in trouble when Caulfield brought suit in 1966 (they settled out of court). From this time on, Warhol based his art on photographs he took himself.

A hard cover catalogue will be published to accompany the exhibition, with a newly commissioned essay by art historian Michael Lobel.

An astute art market observer asked us to identify this work of art in the background of Pierre Bergé’s photo. The photo was taken last year by Ed Alcock for the New York Times. One can clearly see a work in the background that would seem to be Warhol’s Serial Marilyn but in overlapping registers.

Does anyone know this work? Anyone care to guess its market value? Our tipster has a number in mind but it’s, well, not for the faint of heart.

Update: Another market watcher was kind enough to consult the Catalogue Raisonnée. There’s nothing like the image listed there.  That observer also remarked upon the way the image appears to be framed and matted like a poster. Of course, one wonders what kind of poster Pierre Bergé might have hanging in his office.

The Bank of New York Mellon, Christie’s, Bloomberg and the Economist magazine are all joining forces to sponsor the Andy Warhol Museum’s exhibition of work that will tour Asia in commemoration of the artist’s death 25 years ago. The press release doesn’t describe the works that will be included in the show. The presumption is that the works will be drawn from the museum’s holdings:

The exhibition is curated by The Andy Warhol Museum in Warhol’s home town of Pittsburgh. It chronicles the breadth of the artist’s career and demonstrates the extraordinary scope of his interests. It will travel to five Asian cities over 27 months starting at ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, where it will run from 17 March 2012 until 12 August 2012. It will then tour to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing throughout 2013 and end in Tokyo in 2014.

Not long after spending $7m to defend the Warhol Authentication Board against a lawsuit from the dissatisfied owners of a disputed Warhol self portrait, the foundation has decided to get out of the authentication business. The Foundation continues to publish the Warhol catalogues raisonné which is only up to 1974 currently:

The Board of Directors of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. announced today that the Foundation will dissolve the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board, Inc. in early 2012.   The Foundation’s decision to dissolve the Authentication Board was informed by a strategic review of the Foundation’s core programs and reflects the Foundation’s intent to maximize its grant-making and other charitable activities in support of the visual arts.

The Directors further expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the exemplary work and expertise provided by members of the Authentication Board over the past 16 years.   The Authentication Board will honor all requests for review received prior to October 19, 2011; but will no longer accept requests for review after that date.

Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board