WARHOL, ANDY
* 06.08.1928 Pittsburgh, † 22.02.1987 New York
Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh on 6 August 1928, the third child of a Russian immigrant family. At the age of eight, he fell ill with St Vitus's dance and a rare pigment disorder, which often led to him being mistaken for an albino. Confined to bed, he discovered a passion for comics and movies. From 1945 to 1949, Warhol studied commercial art at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, where he graduated with a degree in painting and design. The young Warhol was drawn to the hotspot for art and literature - New York. There he worked as a window dresser and soon became the most sought-after advertising designer in the city. His first drawings were published in 1950 in the magazine ‘Mademoiselle’. With the designer Suzie Frankfurt, he developed the ‘drop-and-dripping technique’, in which he took motifs painted in India ink and ink, copied them using blotting paper and transferred them to another sheet – a preliminary stage to his later preferred technique, silkscreen printing. This is how he created numerous greeting cards, giveaways, contributions for magazines but also cookbooks. At so-called ‘colouring parties’ he had friends and guests colour in these works — here, too, a hint of his later serial production and the Factory.
At the end of the 1950s, he decided to turn his back on graphic design and work as an artist. Like no other artist before him, he confronted the way society had changed. He looked for everyday objects, events, stars, and starlets that were part of everyone's life and had some kind of significance for everyone. For example, mass-produced items, such as the famous Campbell's Soup cans, which in the 1950s/60s were found in every pantry in the USA and England, or celebrities such as James Dean, Jacky Kennedy, and Marylin Monroe, whose fate was shared by an entire generation. Warhol made expert use of comics, newspaper photos and images of stars, starlets, accidents, but also of events or objects, elevating them to icons, not only of his time but also of ours, by using them both in his artworks and their simultaneous serial production. At the beginning of the 1960s, he was to discover silkscreen printing, the technique which enabled him to achieve the seriality that is intrinsic to his work. The Factory, founded in 1962, also contributed to taking seriality to the extreme.
In 1968, an attempt was made on Warhol's life by the radical women's rights activist Valerie Solanas. As a result, he withdrew more and more, and the formerly experimental Factory increasingly devoted itself to the commercialisation of his art. As a result of this experience and the later death of his mother, the theme of death entered Warhol's work. In addition, portraits, including commissioned portraits, became increasingly important. Andy Warhol died on 22 February 1987.
The Andy Warhol Foundation of Visual Arts was set up before his death, and, along with his family, received a large part of his fortune, which was estimated at over 100 million US dollars. Today, the Foundation is compiling a comprehensive catalogue raisonné of his works.
Works by this artist from our auctions
Following are some examples of works by this artist from our past and future auctions.We are always accepting consignments for our auctions. Share in our success – contact us today for a no-obligations auction estimate.
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 300 000 / 500 000 | (€ 309 280 / 515 460)
Sold for CHF 360 000 (including buyer’s premium)
All information is subject to change.
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 140 000 / 180 000 | (€ 144 330 / 185 570)
Sold for CHF 315 500 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 180 000 / 240 000 | (€ 185 570 / 247 420)
Sold for CHF 207 700 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 50 000 / 70 000 | (€ 51 550 / 72 160)
Sold for CHF 201 600 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 80 000 / 140 000 | (€ 82 470 / 144 330)
Sold for CHF 192 500 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 120 000 / 180 000 | (€ 123 710 / 185 570)
Sold for CHF 183 300 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 70 000 / 90 000 | (€ 72 160 / 92 780)
Sold for CHF 168 500 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 100 000 / 150 000 | (€ 103 090 / 154 640)
Sold for CHF 146 700 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 60 000 / 80 000 | (€ 61 860 / 82 470)
Sold for CHF 146 700 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 55 000 / 75 000 | (€ 56 700 / 77 320)
Sold for CHF 146 700 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 40 000 / 60 000 | (€ 41 240 / 61 860)
Sold for CHF 116 200 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 24 000 / 28 000 | (€ 24 740 / 28 870)
Sold for CHF 110 100 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 25 000 / 35 000 | (€ 25 770 / 36 080)
Sold for CHF 110 100 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 50 000 / 70 000 | (€ 51 550 / 72 160)
Sold for CHF 110 100 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 30 000 / 50 000 | (€ 30 930 / 51 550)
Sold for CHF 104 000 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 20 000 / 30 000 | (€ 20 620 / 30 930)
Sold for CHF 104 000 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 65 000 / 75 000 | (€ 67 010 / 77 320)
Sold for CHF 97 900 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 80 000 / 120 000 | (€ 82 470 / 123 710)
Sold for CHF 97 900 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 12 000 / 18 000 | (€ 12 370 / 18 560)
Sold for CHF 90 000 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 45 000 / 55 000 | (€ 46 390 / 56 700)
Sold for CHF 79 200 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 35 000 / 45 000 | (€ 36 080 / 46 390)
Sold for CHF 79 600 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 35 000 / 45 000 | (€ 36 080 / 46 390)
Sold for CHF 78 380 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 60 000 / 90 000 | (€ 61 860 / 92 780)
Sold for CHF 75 000 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 50 000 / 70 000 | (€ 51 550 / 72 160)
Sold for CHF 61 300 (including buyer’s premium)
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ANDY WARHOL
CHF 10 000 / 15 000 | (€ 10 310 / 15 460)
Sold for CHF 57 600 (including buyer’s premium)
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