'Andy's Randy Summer' Online-Only Sale of Warhol Works

Christie's is pleased to announce "Andy Warhol @ Christie's: Andy's Randy Summer" online-only sale to be offered June 16 - 25.

Sourced directly from the collection of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the June sale of "Andy Warhol @ Christie's" will focus on artworks that offer insight into Warhol's most exclusive and intimate world. This sale features over 100 photographs, prints and drawings in which the artist focused his unique gaze on the LGBTQ community.

Collectors around the world will have the opportunity to bid online to acquire these exceptional works, the majority of which have never been seen in public. With opening bids starting at $1,600, there is something for both the seasoned collector and new Warhol enthusiast alike.

Please visit http://www.christies.com/warhol to learn more about the sale and register to bid.

Throughout his career, Warhol depicted male nudes through photography or drawing, often using gay underground culture as his backdrop. His visual explorations of the complexity of sexuality and desire chronicle the momentous changes within the gay community in the late 20th century, when many young men were flocking to urban centers such as New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans from their suburban and rural hometowns.

With the anonymity of the city came the opportunity for a subculture that was both self-sustaining and self-defining. Warhol himself moved from Pittsburgh to New York in the summer of 1949, and witnessed first-hand both the blossoming of the gay community in the 1970s and the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic that battered the community in the 1980s.

SALE INFORMATION

Online Auction:
http://www.christies.com/warhol

Sale Date :
June 16 - 25, 2015
Viewing: By appointment only | +1 212-707-5914 | [email protected]

Note: The content of this online-only auction from Christies.com contains some explicit material and mature subject matter, including artwork containing nudity and sexual conduct. Christie's has implemented an age verification (18+) feature on the initial gateway page to the sale microsite.

Since 2011, Christie's has been offering time-based on-line only auctions of fine art, jewelry, watches, fashion, decorative arts, photographs, and memorabilia. All property auctioned on-line is treated with the same high-touch dedicated cataloguing, inspection, and review as any property offered by Christie's. Many of these on-line auctions have attracted visitors from all over the world, with 180 different countries represented thus far. Online auctions typically last up to two weeks with incremental bidding and staggered end times for different lots. Potential winning bidders are shown an estimate of their all-in price that includes buyer's premium, taxes, and shipping costs. Once registered, bidders receive instant updates by email or phone when other bids exceed their own. All payment is by credit card, and bidding registration is open to all clients.

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts was established in 1987. In accordance with Andy Warhol's will, its mission is the advancement of the visual arts. The primary focus of the Foundation's grant-making activity has been to support the creation, presentation, and documentation of contemporary visual arts, particularly work that is experimental, under-recognized, or challenging in nature. The program has been both pro-active in its approach to the field of cultural philanthropy and responsive to the changing needs of artists. A strong commitment to freedom of artistic expression continues to inform the Foundation's support of organizations that fight censorship, protect artists' rights, and defend their access to evolving technologies in the digital age. Through cooperative exhibitions, loans and permanent placement of work in museums nationwide, the Foundation has ensured that the many facets of Warhol's complex oeuvre are both widely accessible and properly cared for. In helping to establish the comprehensive collection and study center of The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, the Foundation paved the way for new Warhol scholarship and curatorial innovation. The Foundation's sustained support and oversight of thoroughly researched, extensively illustrated catalogues raisonn�s of Warhol's entire artistic output continues to expand the possibilities for scholarship about his work.

The Foundation has also used its ownership of the copyrights to Warhol images and trademarks to his name and signature as an opportunity to craft creative and responsible licensing policies that are both friendly to scholars and artists wishing to use Warhol images for educational and creative purposes and profitable to the Foundation when the images are used for commercial purposes. Revenues from licensing agreements add significantly to those earned through the continued sale of work from the Foundation's art collection, enabling the Foundation to build the endowment from which it makes cash grants to arts organizations around the country. Visit the Foundation's website at www.warholfoundation.org.