Andy Warhol "The Witch" Trial Proof, Myths Suite

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Fine Antiquities, Ancient & Pre-Columbian Art...

By Artemis Gallery

Dec 7, 2023

Set Reminder 2023-12-07 10:00:00 2023-12-07 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Antiquities, Ancient & Pre-Columbian Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/fine-antiquities-ancient-pre-columbian-art-14361
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• Lot Description
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  Andy Warhol (American, 1930-1987). "The Witch" trial proof from "Myths Suite" silkscreen with diamond dust on Lenox museum board, 1981. Embossed printer Rupert Jason Smith blindstamp at lower left & publisher Ronald Feldman Fine Arts stamp on verso. In 1981, Andy Warhol created his Myths Suite featuring legendary childhood characters such as The Wicked Witch, a larger-than-life villainess in the 1939 MGM film "The Wizard of Oz" played by Margaret Hamilton (1902-1985). Warhol asked Hamilton to recreate her iconic "I'll get you, my pretty!" pose in his studio and rendered her cackling visage in vibrant hues of citron green, blue violet, cherry red, black and white with diamond dust embellishments. "The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do," he once explained. Indeed, Warhol's portrait of the Wicked Witch reflected his fascination with a legendary childhood character who looms large in our collective imagination. Size (silkscreen): 38" L x 38" W (96.5 cm x 96.5 cm) Size (frame): 52" L x 52" W (132.1 cm x 132.1 cm)
  
  Warhol's "Myths Suite" included 10 screenprints that paid homage to legendary characters of Hollywood cinema, mid-century television, and literature that children adored such as Mickey Mouse, Santa Claus, Superman, Howdy Doody, Dracula, Uncle Sam, as well as the Wicked Witch of the West. Warhol selected these characters, which are still recognized throughout the world, because they connoted an enchanted collective past.
  
  Please note, there is a Certificate of Authenticity on the verso that points to the embossed monogram (the blindstamp) of the printer Rupert Jason Smith at the lower left and the stamp done by the publisher Ronald Feldman Fine Arts on the verso. It also states, "This is an unsigned proof from a private collection verified and confirmed by the fact that Andy Warhol in this rare instance did not sign this suite."
  
  Andy Warhol was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1949 and then moved to New York City to pursue commercial art, working for fashion magazines like Glamour and Vogue. Warhol became a multi-faceted artist and filmmaker who was a leading light of the Pop Art movement in the 1960s. Warhol's Campbell Soup cans, Coca-Cola bottles, and Brillo soap pad boxes blurred the boundaries between high and low culture. His silkscreen portraits of celebrities such as Elvis and Marilyn Monroe rendered in garish candy-like colors with repeated images dehumanized these cultural icons, thus linking celebrity to consumerism and material culture. His underground films such as "Eat" (1963) and "Chelsea Girls" (1966) were known for eroticism and lengthy, plotless, scripts. During the 1960s, Warhol rented a studio loft in Midtown Manhattan later known as The Factory. The Factory was a hub for artists, movie stars, and models, who became subjects and inspiration for his prints and films. In addition, the space served as a performance venue for The Velvet Underground. By the 1980s, Warhol was collaborating with rising artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Following Warhol's death at age 58, due to complications from routine gall bladder surgery, his estate became The Andy Warhol Foundation. In 1994, The Andy Warhol Museum opened in his native Pittsburgh. Today, his works are appreciated throughout the world and may be viewed in major museum collections including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and the Tate Gallery in London.
  
  Provenance: Private Fallbrook, California, USA collection, acquired from Heritage Estate Solutions, January 15, 2022
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #181723

  Condition

  Embossed printer Rupert Jason Smith blindstamp at lower left & publisher Ronald Feldman Fine Arts stamp on verso. COA on verso points to these elements of authenticity and also states, "This is an unsigned proof from a private collection verified and confirmed by the fact that Andy Warhol in this rare instance did not sign this suite." The proof has not been examined outside the frame but presents with some minor crease marks/minute nicks to upper left edge and slight crease marks to upper right edge. The frame has some wear/damage to upper left corner and a few scuffs to the plexiglass. Fit with suspension wire.
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