Artists, Dealers
Marion Maneker0April 12, 2012

D’Offay and the Fright Wigs

Anthony D’Offay explains the genesis of the fright wigs which he commissioned from Warhol. D’Offay was initially intimidated by the total freedom Warhol gave the dealer:

Then, at Christmas 1985, d’Offay had a lightbulb moment.

He was a good friend of German artist Joseph Beuys, the artist’s work the first d’Offay showed in the London gallery he opened in 1980.

In 1985, on Christmas Day, he was in Naples with Beuys.

“We all spent the morning singing carols in German and English and then Joseph and I went to visit an architect he knew. He was showing us around his house and in his bedroom he had this very large, red portrait of Joseph that Andy had taken,” says d’Offay.

“As soon as you walked into the room, this picture knocked you back against the wall and in that very second I thought: “You idiot, it’s so obvious. This is the greatest portrait painter of the second half of the 20th century and it’s a long time since there’s been a self-portrait”.

“Three days later in was in New York at the Factory saying to Andy ‘what about a self-portrait show’.”

Warhol told d’Offay to go back in three weeks, when the artist had a selection of Polaroids – including several of himself in drag, a number of which make up the Sheffield exhibition.

Artists
Marion Maneker0April 09, 2012

Why Does Warhol Cause Such Wild Valuation Fantasies?

First it was the Farah Fawcett portrait that caused ridiculous speculation in the press that a Warhol would automatically be worth tens of millions of dollars. Now there’s another tall tale, too-eagerly repeated by the Telegraph that its owner imagines is worth $20m or more:

Andy Fields, from Tiverton, Devon, claims to have snapped up the 1930s sketch in Las Vegas, where it was hidden among a pile of artwork. The vendor, alleged to be a drug user, told him his aunt used to care for Warhol when he was a child. The picture, which is signed, is thought to have been created when the artist was just ten or eleven years old. The claim would make the drawing the earliest known example of his famous pop art style. A formal valuation of the work has estimated its worth at a £1.3m, but Mr Fields has claimed he has been told it could be worth ten times that.

‘Warhol painting bought for £3 at jumble sale’ (Telegraph)

Artists
Marion Maneker0March 15, 2012

Sotheby’s to Sell Double Elvis

Sotheby’s has now released the information the Warhol Double Elvis that will be included in their May 9th Contemporary sale. The work is estimated at $30-50m. Josh Baer points out that the catalogue raisonné lists Shaindy Fenton as the owner of the work.

Fenton’s heir has been involved in cleaning up the family’s Warhol holdings of late but there’s no information whether the Fenton family still owns this work.

Artists
Marion Maneker0March 15, 2012

Sotheby’s Doubles Up on Elvis

Josh Baer has a scoop on Sotheby’s May Sale and Warhol’s Elvis paintings. Remember that the highest price paid on the private market is meant to be for an Eight Elvis work.

 

Artists
Marion Maneker0January 31, 2012

Andy to Asia

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.

General
Marion Maneker0October 19, 2011

Mugrabi Has 100 Warhols in Front of Authentication Board

Kelly Crow reports that the Warhol Authentication Board has 175 works that have been submitted and must be ruled upon before they wind up:

Jose Mugrabi, a major dealer and collector who owns at least 800 Warhols, called the board’s dissolution “totally irresponsible.” He said there are still “hundreds” of Warhols in existence that have yet to be tracked down and authenticated by scholars. He said at least 100 of the Warhols before the board now belong to him.

“I have to sit down,” Mr. Mugrabi said when informed of the board’s vote. “They have an obligation to finish their job.”

What is striking about today’s decision is the Foundation’s unwillingness to address the serious concerns raised about the Authentication Board by critics like Richard Dorment. Shutting the board does nothing to restore the Foundation’s credibility.

Is That a Fake Warhol? Even His Foundation Isn’t Sure (Wall Street Journal)

Artists
Marion Maneker0October 19, 2011

Warhol Foundation Dissolves Authentication Board

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 

Featured, General
Marion Maneker0October 06, 2011

Christie’s Goes After the Pop Dollar

Kelly Crow got the early release of Christie’s PWC sale in New York this November. The lead lot is Courtney Ross’s Lichtenstein classic comic book painting which is priced at $35m. That work is backed up by a Warhol Liz offered at $16m that overlaps nicely with Christie’s own sale of the late actress’s estate and the Gagosian show of Liz paintings that opens next week downtown.

All of this is because Brett Gorvy knows the big money will pay for Pop art:

Mr. Gorvy said he’s also been monitoring the buoyancy of Pop prices amid recession and figures Warhol still enjoys broad appeal. “The new buyers are the most powerful buyers in the marketplace now,” he said, adding that he’s watched the pool of buyers who can spend $30 million-plus on a Pop painting double in recent years, thanks to wealthy, emerging markets like China and Brazil. “These guys want impactful paintings that are easy to understand.”

Pop Art to Take Center Stage at Christie’s (Wall Street Journal)

General
Marion Maneker1September 19, 2011

Bankrupt Irish Developer’s Warhol to Sell in New York

Distressed art sales haven’t figured publicly in the art market for a few years now. That doesn’t mean they’re gone—or only gone underground. Christie’s is selling 14 works by an Irish developer with the hopes of bringing £1.5m.

when tax inspector-turned property developer Derek Quinlan had his spectacular fall, the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) not only seized the loans on his string of homes in Dublin 4 and the Canary Wharf tower, but also his gallery of internationally renowned paintings. [...]

The 14 paintings include Andy Warhol’s Dollar Sign which, a spokesman for Christies said, is expected to fetch between $400,000 and $600,000 in New York. Also on sale are works by Ireland’s greatest artists including William Scott, Jack Butler Yeats and Paul Henry which will be sold in London.

Warhol Reclaimed: Irish Property Developer’s Art Work For Sale (Independent)

General
Marion Maneker2August 12, 2011

Heir Sues for Return of Warhol Portrait After 27-Year Loan

The son of a Fort Worth socialite, Shaindy Fenton, wants his mother’s Warhol portrait back after loaning it to his uncle for 27 years, according to the Courthouse News Service. The portait is now estimated at $350,000, which may have something to do with the suit:

Robert Fenton, trustee of the Fenton Family Trust sued Neil Balick, a dentist, in Federal Court. Fenton says his late mother, Joyce Balick Fenton aka Shaindy Fenton, was “a renowned art dealer who operated a private art gallery from her home in Fort Worth, Texas.” He says his mom became friends with Warhol, and commissioned three portraits from him, “in exchange for her transfer of certain artwork and jewelry to Mr. Warhol.” Warhol made three acrylic silk-screen on canvas portraits of Shaindy Fenton, in 1978, 1980 and 1983, a blue one, a red one and a pink one, Fenton says. Shaindy Fenton died in January 1984 and in December that year, Robert Fenton says he sent the blue portrait to his uncle, the defendant. Fenton says it was a loan, and that Balick understood that.

Man Sues Uncle for a Warhol (Courthouse News Service)

« Older Posts
Untitled Document