WARHOL ANDY (1928 1987) Two uncut photobooth self portraits

Sale 2311 - Lot 256

Price Realized: $ 16,800

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 12,000 - $ 18,000

WARHOL, ANDY (1928-1987)
Two uncut photobooth self-portraits of Warhol in a tuxedo and bowtie. Silver print, full sheet measures 3 7/8x1 1/2 inches (9.9x3.8 cm.). Early 1960s

Set Alert for Similar Items

Additional Details

From Fred Hughes, Warhol's manager; to the present owner.
The photo booth sits at the uneasy, kinetic intersection of intimate and theatrical space. Each take allows the sitter to adopt a persona behind a private curtain, but results in a printed, very nearly paparazzi-style strip of images. Built for mass entertainment, the photo booth is, in a certain sense, a precursor to online social media in its satisfying blend of the personal and public.

In 1963 Harper's Bazaar commissioned Andy Warhol to make a layout, and the artist turned to the photo booth, launching what would be a decade-long interest in the format. In the photo booth, Warhol took portraits of his friends, celebrities, and members of the Factory, creating a model for his insta-celebrity, repetitive, contemporary aesthetic.

In this pair of self-portraits Warhol stares at the viewer impassively, but impeccably dressed. He does not inhabit the celebrated flamboyant Warhol persona-in fact he appears nearly strenuously straight-faced. But the subtle eye-shift between frames catches the artist looking, reacting to the flash and click.