What could be more Warholian than a flash sale of celebrity portraits on a democratized and accessible auction platform?
This morning, 50 polaroids, posters and black and white photos of Andy Warhol have listed on eBay in a surprisingly affordable price range of $500 to $24,000. The proceeds of the sale, entitled “Andy Warhol: Social Networkwill benefit the philanthropic efforts of the Andy Warhol Foundation, a modern reflection of the artist’s own passion for elevating, encouraging and supporting the practice of other contemporary artists.
Attracting fans of Warhol’s work despite how deep their pockets are is the primary goal of the sale, according to Michael Dayton Hermann, director of licensing, marketing and sales for the foundation.
“This initiative has proven the demand from global collectors of all budgets to buy with ease and with reason using a democratic platform while directly supporting the advancement of the visual arts,” he said.
In the sale you will find several recurring Warhol characters, such as Candy Darling, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Debbie Harry, Marsha P. Johnson and Mick Jagger. Alongside the expected team are less visible portraits of people such as Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Rubell, owner of Studio 54, Martin Scorsese, André Leon Talley, Leo Castelli and Jonas Mekas.
Polaroid portraits cost between $2,500 and $7,000, screen prints of Warhol images like cows and Marilyn Monroe are on sale for $6,500, while posters and rare books cost as little as $100 to $700 . The sale continues until April 3.
This highly accessible sale aims to commemorate the Foundation’s achievement of $3 million in total sales with eBay for Charity, the philanthropic arm of the online marketplace. The sum was raised through the sale of 800 individual works, with an average price of $3,787, a feat to make Warhol’s art more widely accessible.
After all, it was Warhol himself who said, “The great thing about this country is that America started the tradition that the wealthiest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest.” . Good hunt!
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