SwissArtGallery · Documented identity

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol (1928–1987), also known as Andrew Warhola, made the circulation and repetition of images a central element of his practice: the appropriation of images and photographic-emulsion silkscreen printing enabled him to treat the signs of consumerism and figures of celebrity on the same level. According to the Art Institute of Chicago, the rapid and repeated production of the same image helped blur the traditional boundaries between art and commercial art.

Born in Pittsburgh, he studied pictorial design at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie Mellon University. In 1961, he turned to Pop Art, applying to it an entrepreneurial approach comparable to the one he had developed in his advertising work. His vocabulary brings together familiar objects, such as Campbell’s soup cans and Coca-Cola bottles, and Hollywood personalities such as Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. In these images, products and celebrities are brought together until celebrities appear as products and products as stars.

Celebrity and the role of the media in constructing identities remain central concerns in both his artistic production and his social life. He explores these questions beyond painting, through experiments in underground film, publishing, photography and performance. In Twelve Jackies (1964), part of a group made shortly after the death of John F. Kennedy, he reuses a press photograph of the former First Lady at the President’s funeral, then crops and enlarges the image. This treatment focuses attention on the subject, like a cinematic close-up.

Other works address darker subjects: Little Race Riot (1964) and Big Electric Chair (1967–68) are presented as expressing his attention to the violent realities of American life. Two self-portraits, dated 1964 and 1966, also attest to his interest in his own image. The Art Institute of Chicago notes that several of Warhol’s paintings held in the Edlis Neeson Collection highlight his commitment to portraiture. Works listed by the museum include Liz #3 [Early Colored Liz] (1963), Flowers (1964), Birmingham Race Riot (1964), Mao (1972) and Four Mona Lisas (1978), a group that reveals the diversity of his subjects and his reuses of images.

This profile brings together identity references for Andy Warhol and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.

4 references are documented at DognyAuction, Kornfeld, Lempertz. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.

Works recorded at auction

Kornfeld · Lot 173

Mother and Child

Charcoal

Catalogue period : 2020-09-18

Published result : 35000 CHF

Hammer price, excluding fees

Estimate : CHF 40000

View the lot at the auction house ↗

Kornfeld · Lot 785

Candelabra

Watercolour

Original catalogue wording

Candelabra
watercolour

Catalogue period : 2020-09-17

Published result : 23000 CHF

Hammer price, excluding fees

Estimate : CHF 25000

View the lot at the auction house ↗

Lempertz · Lot 738

Bouquet of Flowers

Ink on paper

Original catalogue wording

Bouquet of Flowers
Tusche auf Papier

Auction date : 2016-06-04

Published result : 22320 EUR

Including buyer’s premium

Estimate : 12000

View the lot at the auction house ↗

DognyAuction

Andy WARHOL (1928–1987), United States 2-dollar bill depicting Thomas Jefferson, 1976

Acrylic

Original catalogue wording

Andy WARHOL (1928-1987), billet de 2 $ des USA représentant Thomas Jefferson, 1976
acrylique

Date to be documented

Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed

Estimate : CHF 800–1000

View the lot at the auction house ↗

Sources and references

• Reference record
• ARTIC · Reference link only; institutional text and images are not reproduced.
• LoC · Reference link only; institutional text and images are not reproduced.
• Met · CC0
• Met · CC0
• Met · CC0
• Met · CC0
• Met · CC0
• MoMA · CC0
• NDL · NDL Terms of Use (source attribution)
• NGA · CC0
• Documentary source

SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Documentation updated : 2026-10-19