Provenance

Private Collection, Switzerland
Literature

F. Feldman and J. Schellmann, Andy Warhol Prints: A Catalogue Raisonné 1962- 1987, New York, 2003, pp. 76-77, no. II . 64-73 (illustrated)
Catalogue Essay

Warhol’s garish and brilliantly colored flowers always gravitate toward the surrounding blackness and finally end in a sea of morbidity. No matter how much one wishes these Flowers to remain beautiful they perish under one’s gaze, as if haunted by death.
J. Coplans, Andy Warhol, New York, 1978, p. 52
Andy Warhol’s iconic flower screenprints are a hallmark of the artist’s career. Vibrant and lush, they were the most abstract works the artist produced in the 1960s and ‘70s, layering contrasted colors in a graphic, flattened grid. Warhol deliberately rejected hierarchical composition by choosing a square format, embracing the simplicity of the symmetrical form and positioning it as a building block for a larger network of images. The device of repetition was Warhol’s most significant instrument for image branding. His gridded portraits of celebrities, commercial items, popular moments in time, and ordinary people were an ongoing comment on the ubiquity of fame, while visually equalizing all his subjects. Likewise, his series of monumental flower prints has become a recognizable brand in itself.
Referencing the long tradition of painted flowers in art history, Warhol’s flowers both reflect and confront nature: unnatural and synthetic, they are emblematic of artificial virility. The artist’s obsession with death was a prime force in his art, and his bold flower prints allude to the immortality of celebrity, even as it often kills the individual. Coolly detached symbols of vitality, the fabricated prints contain a moment commoditized and preserved in time. The present lot is an exciting and rare example of this series. Delighting in an intensely electric palette, this set of ten prints hints toward eminent decay while ebulliently celebrating life.
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.

View More Works

139

Andy Warhol

Flowers

1970

Portfolio of ten screenprints on paper.
36 x 36 in. (91.4 x 91.4 cm) each.
Each signed and numbered of 250 on the reverse. Each work is from an edition of 250, plus 26 artists proofs.

Estimate
$400,000 - 600,000

Sold for $458,500

Contemporary Art Part I

13 May 2010
New York

101
Kelley Walker
Untitled
Estimate $70,000 - 90,000
Sold for $266,500
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102
George Condo
Young Woman with Pearl Necklace
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
Sold for $194,500
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103
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled (Plan B)
Estimate $300,000 - 400,000
Sold for $602,500
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104
Urs Fischer
The Grass Munchers
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $902,500
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105
Ugo Rondinone
21. Mai 2006
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $104,500
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106
Rosemarie Trockel
Untitled
Estimate $150,000 - 200,000
Sold for $206,500
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107
Mark Handforth
Chain Trashcan
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $62,500
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108
Mark Bradford
All I Need is “One” More Chance
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $542,500
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109
Antony Gormley
Sublimate II
Estimate $350,000 - 450,000
Sold for $554,500
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110
Damien Hirst
Untitled
Estimate $700,000 - 900,000
Sold for $782,500
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111
Lisa Yuskavage
KK in Red Room
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
Sold for $230,500
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112
Jeff Koons
Stay in Tonight
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $698,500
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113
Richard Prince
Oh Henry
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,200,000
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114
Kehinde Wiley
Support the Army and Look After the People
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $104,500
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115
Barnaby Furnas
Duel (July 4th)
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
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116
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Rubber
Estimate $1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for $1,762,500
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117
Andy Warhol
Jackie
Estimate $800,000 - 1,200,000
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118
Dan Flavin
Untitled (to Jörg Schellmann)
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $266,500
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119
Christopher Wool
Untitled (P447)
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $626,500
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120
Roni Horn
Key and Cue, No. 807: Expectation—is contentment
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
Sold for $158,500
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121
Steven Parrino
Pull Down
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $506,500
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122
Donald Judd
Untitled (91-138 Menziken)
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $434,500
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123
Anish Kapoor
Untitled
Estimate $700,000 - 1,000,000
Sold for $812,500
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124
Yayoi Kusama
Infinity Nets (OQ4)
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Sold for $422,500
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125
Frank Stella
Khurasan Gate III
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
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126
Robert Mangold
Red February #3
Estimate $180,000 - 250,000
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127
Adolph Gottlieb
Black Note
Estimate $300,000 - 400,000
Sold for $338,500
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128
Kenneth Noland
Untitled
Estimate $300,000 - 400,000
Sold for $542,500
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129
Robert Mangold
Curled Figure XXI Study
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $116,500
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130
Mary Heilmann
Black Dahlia III
Estimate $30,000 - 40,000
Sold for $68,500
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131
Peter Halley
Blue Prison
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
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132
Donald Judd
Untitled (1968-76)
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $86,500
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133
Mark Tansey
Redeployment
Estimate $1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for $962,500
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134
John Baldessari
Lion Jet Truck
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $554,500
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135
Andy Warhol
Brillo Soap Pads Box
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $638,500
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136
Joseph Cornell
Hotel Andromeda
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
Sold for $170,500
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137
Roy Lichtenstein
Modern Painting
Estimate $350,000 - 450,000
Sold for $422,500
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138
Tom Wesselmann
Sunset Nude (Light)
Estimate $800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for $914,500
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139
Andy Warhol
Flowers
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $458,500
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140
Andy Warhol
Ads Painting (Rebel Without a Cause [James Dean])
Estimate $700,000 - 900,000
Sold for $602,500
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141
Liza Lou
Offensive/Defensive
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $278,500
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142
Chris Ofili
Silver Moon
Estimate $450,000 - 600,000
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143
George Condo
Widow’s Watch
Estimate $300,000 - 400,000
Sold for $362,500
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144
Lisa Yuskavage
Bad Habits: Asspicking, Foodeating, Headshrinking, Socialclimbing, Motherfucker
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
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145
Banksy
Untitled (Toxic Marys)
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
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146
Margherita Manzelli
Miss Missy
Estimate $70,000 - 90,000
Sold for $80,500
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147
Paul McCarthy
Untitled (from Propo-Series) (Peaches)
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
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148
Leandro Erlich
La Vista (The View)
Estimate $30,000 - 50,000
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149
Jules de Balincourt
I Infect You, You Infect Me
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $84,100
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150
Wangechi Mutu
Untitled
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $116,500
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151
Wolfgang Tillmans
Supercollider (Refraction) C
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $88,900
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152
Tim Noble and Sue Webster
Lucky
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
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Contemporary Art Part I

13 May 2010 New York

Create your first list.

Provenance

Literature

Catalogue Essay

Artist Biography

Andy Warhol

139

Andy Warhol

Flowers

Contemporary Art Part I

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13 May 2010
New York