Andy Warhol

Estate of Andy Warhol
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., New York
Private Collection, New York
Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York
Kevin Bruk Gallery, Inc., Miami
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 2006

New York, Tony Shafrazi, Andy Warhol, Portraits, May - October 2005

This work is in very good condition overall. There is extremely light evidence of handling at the edges. There is also a light and unobtusive 1/8 inch surface accretion located 13 1/2 inches from the bottom edge and 4 inches from the right edge. Under ultra violet light inspection, there is no apparent resotration. Framed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

"Warhol's interest in people- to which his lifelong pursuit of portraiture attests- was not a search for inner truths, but an endless fascination with the theatre of living." - Nicholas Baume (Exh. Cat. Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum [and travelling], About Face: Andy Warhol Portraits, 1999- 2000, p. 91)

Light-years away from soup cans and Brillo boxes, post-1960's Warhol was an ode to big names and bright lights; a celebration of all the artifices of invention, re-invention and make-believe. With her hourglass figure, red lips and big blonde hair, Dolly Parton is the heart of all that glitters. Always a vision of glamour, no matter her age, the Queen of Country proved to be Warhol's perfect sitter.

As Warhol progressed through the 70's into the 80's, he left behind the faded newsprint portraits of his earlier years, turning the genre instead to that, "imaginary light that makes everyone look good." (Carter Ratcliffe in Exh. Cat., New York, Tony Shafrazi Gallery, Andy Warhol Portraits, 2005, p. 20) Dolly, never once caught on camera without a full face of makeup, seemed to live her life in this fantasy world.

Warhol was very processorial when it came to his commissioned portraits. He would hire a stylist to assist in making his sitter look as glamourous as possible and then would take about 100 different polaroid snapshots, letting the client choose the one they liked best. A tribute to self-invention, these works were not meant as matter of fact portrayals, but rather as utopian images - images of selves re-imagined with heightened brilliance, charm and glitz.

Dolly Parton, 1985 is one of Warhol's great masterpieces of the 1980's for it is the epitomy of this ethos. Dolly is depicted as almost angelic with her pouty red lips and halo of cotton-candied hair. Staring into the camera fearlessly with her green eyes and purple shadow she seems to remind us that life is a stage and on it we can be anything or anybody we want to be.