70
Andy Warhol
Melorange Glacé
- Estimate
- $30,000 - 50,000
Further Details
“All I ever really want is sugar.”—Andy Warhol
Warhol’s notorious sweet tooth manifests in these drawings of desserts, offering a perfectly pastel cake in Untitled (Cake) and an eccentrically elegant ice cream cone with Melorange Glacé. Depicted in the same distinct style as his early commercial illustrations, these treats are reminiscent of those served at Warhol’s favorite sweet shop, the fashionable-yet-kitschy café Serendipity 3. Here, among the cacophony of eclectic décor, Warhol would host coloring parties for his illustrations, with the artist and friends indulging in the café’s over-the-top desserts; the extravagant lemon icebox pie and goblet of frozen hot chocolate were Warhol’s personal favorites. As a struggling artist in the 1950s, Warhol often sold his fanciful illustrations of shoes in exchange for his meals, running up quite a tab: in 1957, he spent $1,900.95 (over $21,000 in 2024 when adjusting for inflation) at the quirky cafe.i
Untitled (Cake) and Melorange Glacé are drawings related to Wild Raspberries (lot 69 in the present sale), a satirical cookbook of recipes written by his friend Julia Frankfurt for which he provided the illustrations. A quartered melon topped with ice cream, sweets, and a billowing ribbon, all perched on a carnivalesque ice cream cone, Melorange Glacé rivals Serendipity 3’s present day Golden Opulence Sundae in terms of culinary panache. Though Warhol was not himself much of a cook– he much preferred a jam sandwich for dinner above all elseii – his early drawings of confectionary creations shine as star examples of his illustrative prowess, sketching up beautifully delicate and whimsical images that are good enough to eat.
i Tony Cherman and David Dalton, Pop: The Genius of Andy Warhol, 2009, p. 26.
ii Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again), 1975, p. 94.
Full-Cataloguing
Andy Warhol
American | B. 1928 D. 1987Andy 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.