Provenance
Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., New York; Private Collection; Sale: Sotheby’s, New York, Contemporary Art (Part II), November 18, 1999, lot 319; Acquired from the above by the present owner
Exhibited
Monaco, Fondation Grimaldi, SuperWarhol, July 16 – August 31, 2003, no. 195 (illustrated in color)
Literature
G. Celant, SuperWarhol, Milan, 2003, p. 417, no. 195 (illustrated in color)
Catalogue Essay
Andy Warhol was famously quoted saying, “Once you’ve ‘got’ Pop, you could never see a sign again the same way again. And once you thought Pop, you could never see America the same way again.” As one of the central figures in American Pop Art, Warhol’s background in commercial illustration and his controversial personality type catapulted him to the status one of the most recognized artists of all time. A trendsetter and seer in many fields, Warhol was fueled by and gave back to the bustling value system of American-style commerce. He used it to his advantage to feed the hungry public what they were already starving for — consumerism and celebrity, perfectly packaged. The symbols of the booming economy of early 1960s America were the ultimate playground for the Pop artists’ imagination. Warhol was skin deep
so to speak, if not, screen deep at best. Inspiration was readily available for purchase on shop shelves, the silver screen, and in the pages of the tabloids. Everyone wanted a piece of the labels, the fame, the brands; everyone wanted a piece of America in its most vapid state. Warhol still satisfies this desire.

Warhol changed the face of art in his time, and the once multi-leveled, velvet roped art world was opened. Warhol created a new and single-echeloned world, inviting anyone who wanted to be included. By using commercial subjects as inspiration for reproductions of contextual icons from American society, Warhol encouraged people from all walks of life to experience both art, and the vigorous world of American consumerism as seen through his lens.

Drawing on this shared cultural experience and notions of nostalgia, Warhol has trained his focus on icons of American folk culture. The Myths series is one of the most exceptional series taken on by Warhol and is the only series where he utilizes fictional characters derived from mass media for his subject matter. Prescribed to them by the American culture of media; this series mirrors the function that Myth played in classical
world. Instead of gods or goddess stories repeated over millennia, Warhol had repetitively imagined characters recognizable to young and old alike.

Featuring personas from literature, film, and history, Warhol juxtaposes several archetypes; his lineup includes a ‘movie star’, Howdy Doody, Aunt Jemima, Superman, Dracula, Santa Claus, Uncle Sam, Mickey Mouse, the Wicked Witch of the West, and ultimately himself. These figures come together with a faceted effect, exemplifying good versus evil, celebrity-hood, American emblems, the clear in contrast to the ambiguous. Lastly is Andy himself transformed into a mythical creature of late 20th century America, a demigod controlling the kaleidoscope of cultural imagery. He shamelessly exploits the control Pop Culture has on the American public and uses it as
a driving force to bring out the most basic of characters in a larger than life way, helping them evolve into more superior versions of themselves, but in the context of their own timeless categories.

The ever mythical witch that has evolved through time in American culture took root during the 17th Century in colonial New England, but extended well into the European medieval period. The Salem Witch trials and the Witch Hunts that subsequently spread like wildfire throughout America during that time lent themselves to the beginnings of the rumors that eventually progressed into what we now use to depict this invented character of the Witch. Over the intervening centuries, the witch has become larger than life through tall tales, storybooks, animation, and the silver screen. Historically witches were not green with warts, jagged teeth, and hook noses, or with scraggily black robes and rickety broom sticks to ride across the sky. This imagery of the witch emerged as the product of illustrations in story books and portrayals in film, eventually becoming the universal trademark for violent black magic, and a mystical feminine rage born through centuries of persecution and isolation.

Thus the Wicked Witch of the West is brought to light in the enduring classic, The Wizard of Oz, shared with children throughout generations. It was clearly the inspiration that loaned itself to the creation of Andy Warhol’s Witch. This particular work is one of the most timeless and chilling of the Myths series. Margaret Hamilton was immortalized through her role as in the 1939 classic. Reprising the role, Warhol has further intensified the lurid make-up originally captured in Technicolor. Warhol depicts her with the devious expression she was famous for, glamorized by ruby lips and dark
eye makeup. Arresting against the violet background, Margaret seethes with
the darkness of the Wicked Witch of the West herself. With her head thrown back and her mouth cast open, we see another famous art historical (and cultural) icon — the anguished character in Edvard Munch’s The Scream.

Greener than an emerald under a spotlight, and fiercer than most modern day villains, Warhol’s depiction of the Witch is flawless in capturing the essence of the character. Even with all her evil and vengefulness, the viewer is mesmerized by her features. Her screeching voice calling out, “I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!” head thrown back, pointed hat askew, with curved brows, and jagged teeth in full view, Warhol truly brings to life one of the most iconic villains of the 20th century.
Artist Biography
Andy Warhol
American • 1928 - 1987
Andy Warhol was the leading exponent of the Pop Art movement in the U.S. in the 1960s. Following an early career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol achieved fame with his revolutionary series of silkscreened prints and paintings of familiar objects, such as Campbell's soup tins, and celebrities, such as Marilyn Monroe. Obsessed with popular culture, celebrity and advertising, Warhol created his slick, seemingly mass-produced images of everyday subject matter from his famed Factory studio in New York City. His use of mechanical methods of reproduction, notably the commercial technique of silk screening, wholly revolutionized art-making.
Working as an artist, but also director and producer, Warhol produced a number of avant-garde films in addition to managing the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground and founding Interview magazine. A central figure in the New York art scene until his untimely death in 1987, Warhol was notably also a mentor to such artists as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

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29

Andy Warhol

Witch

1981
Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas.
60 1/8 x 60 1/8 in. (152.7 x 152.7 cm.)
Signed and dated twice “Andy Warhol 1981” and “Warhol 1981” on the overlap.

Estimate
$1,800,000 - 2,500,000

Sold for $2,658,500

Contemporary Art Part I

12 May 2011
New York

1
Jacob Kassay
Untitled
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $290,500
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2
Urs Fischer
Cup / Cigarettes / Skid
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Sold for $290,500
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3
Wade Guyton
Untitled
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Sold for $422,500
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4
Thomas Houseago
Untitled
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $98,500
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5
Albert Oehlen
Panza de Burro
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $506,500
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6
Glenn Brown
Filth
Estimate $1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for $2,546,500
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7
Ed Ruscha
Inferno
Estimate $1,500,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for $2,210,500
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8
Andy Warhol
Liz #5 (Early Colored Liz)
Estimate On Request
Sold for $26,962,500
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9
Damien Hirst
Night Follows Day
Estimate $1,200,000 - 1,800,000
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10
Mark Grotjahn
Untitled (White Butterfly)
Estimate $300,000 - 400,000
Sold for $422,500
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11
Christopher Wool
Untitled (F48)
Estimate $800,000 - 1,200,000
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12
Cady Noland
SLA Group Shot # 4
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $722,500
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13
Cindy Sherman
Untitled Film Still #9
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
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14
Richard Prince
Wayward Nurse (Crashed)
Estimate $4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for $4,562,500
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15
Christopher Wool
Untitled (P522)
Estimate $800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for $902,500
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16
Lisa Yuskavage
Northview (Impressionist Jacket)
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for $1,082,500
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17
Thomas Schütte
United Enemies
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for $1,022,500
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18
Marlene Dumas
Evil Eye
Estimate $900,000 - 1,200,000
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19
Gerhard Richter
Abstraktes Bild
Estimate $3,000,000 - 4,000,000
Sold for $4,114,500
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20
Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol
Third Eye
Estimate $2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for $7,026,500
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21
Andy Warhol
Flowers
Estimate $8,000,000 - 12,000,000
Sold for $8,146,500
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22
Mark Rothko
Untitled (Red and Orange on Salmon)
Estimate $3,000,000 - 4,000,000
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23
Roy Lichtenstein
Still life with Mirror
Estimate $6,000,000 - 8,000,000
Sold for $6,578,500
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24
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Untitled (Lung)
Estimate $3,500,000 - 4,500,000
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25
Andy Warhol
Mao (Mao 10)
Estimate $3,500,000 - 4,500,000
Sold for $4,002,500
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26
Alighiero Boetti
Mappa (planisphère)
Estimate $1,300,000 - 1,800,000
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27
Robert Indiana
LOVE
Estimate $1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Sold for $1,314,500
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28
George Condo
The Nudist Couple
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
Sold for $842,500
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29
Andy Warhol
Witch
Estimate $1,800,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for $2,658,500
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30
Richard Prince
Untitled Joke Painting
Estimate $350,000 - 450,000
Sold for $782,500
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31
David Hockney
30 Sunflowers
Estimate $1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for $2,546,500
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32
Georgia O'Keeffe
Yellow Jonquils IV
Estimate $2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for $2,210,500
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33
Joan Mitchell
Gouise
Estimate $1,500,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for $1,874,500
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34
Ellsworth Kelly
Green White
Estimate $3,000,000 - 4,000,000
Sold for $3,554,500
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35
Donald Judd
Untitled 90-3 Donaldson
Estimate $2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for $2,098,500
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36
Robert Ryman
Summary
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
Sold for $782,500
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37
Robert Morris
Untitled
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
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38
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
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39
Richard Tuttle
Light Brown, Dark Brown
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
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40
Claes Oldenburg
SCREWARCH MODEL
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
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41
John Chamberlain
Popsicletoes
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $602,500
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42
Damien Hirst
Tranquility
Estimate $1,200,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for $1,202,500
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43
Cindy Sherman
Untitled #422
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $350,500
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44
Takashi Murakami
Magic Ball 2 (Nega)
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $842,500
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45
Andreas Gursky
Brasilia Plenarsaal II
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
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46
Ugo Rondinone
No. 339 Vierterjunizweitausendundvier
Estimate $150,000 - 200,000
Sold for $194,500
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47
This lot is no longer available.
48
Keith Haring
Untitled (Boxers)
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $362,500
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49
George Condo
The Housekeeper’s Diary
Estimate $200,000 - 250,000
Sold for $302,500
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50
Kelley Walker
Black Star Press
Estimate $150,000 - 200,000
Sold for $314,500
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51
Kelley Walker and Wade Guyton
Coconut Chandelier (# 25)
Estimate $30,000 - 50,000
Sold for $74,500
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Contemporary Art Part I

12 May 2011 New York

Create your first list.

Provenance

Exhibited

Literature

Catalogue Essay

Artist Biography

Andy Warhol

29

Andy Warhol

Witch

Contemporary Art Part I

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12 May 2011
New York