John Chamberlain

Andy Warhol, New York (acquired directly from the artist circa 1962)
Estate of Andy Warhol
Private Collection, Medina, Washington
Pace Wildenstein, New York (acquired from the above in December 1996)
Acquired by the present owner from the above in March 1997

Georg Frei and Neil Printz, eds., The Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné, Paintings and Sculptures 1961 - 1963, Volume 01, New York, 2002, fig. 69, p. 94, illustrated in color

This work is in very good condition. There are old losses to the corners of the particle board most noticeably on the lower left corner. The work is slightly dusty overall. The paint losses on the metal are original to the nature of the found materials. Extreme care should be taken with the work as some of the staples are not flush with the particle board and may become loose.
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.

John Chamberlain's Untitled relief collage from 1961 demonstrates the artist's unique ability to transform manufactured color into a significant personal statement.  The Abstract Expressionist school's interest in the physicality of paint and brushstroke was embraced by Chamberlain in his physical manipulation of metal forms into new shapes.  Chamberlain combined different parts of automobiles or other machines in an additive process where the endpoint bore no resemblance to the original object.  Chamberlain's uncanny ability to humanize and tenderize cold mass-produced machine parts is wrought with contradictions and complexities.  The present work and other collages from the early years of the 1960s are intimate and accessible invitations to the viewer to engage with Chamberlain's process.  The rawness of the assembly is intentional – the artist noted, "I saw Al Leslie use a staple gun for his collages and I thought, 'Oh that's the perfect answer,' and then all of a sudden collages became very easy, because I could work fast and they would stay where I put them.  I had gotten all screwed up by the process of gluing something down, somehow; it interrupted the impetus and they always came out different; it wasn't really tight....With stapling, it was boom, boom, boom." (Julie Sylvester, John Chamberlain: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Sculpture 1954 – 1985, New York, 1986, p.12)

The present work possesses a particularly important provenance.  Chamberlain exchanged this collage with Andy Warhol for Warhol's 100 Campbell's Soup Cans from 1962, an early and iconic hand painted work by the master of Pop art which is now in the Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt.  Chamberlain recalled, "We were at [Warhol's] studio looking at all of those Dick Tracy and Nancy paintings and paintings of advertisements.  We discussed the painting of a hundred soup cans which I just marveled at.  He was so glad someone liked them." (Exh. Cat., New York, Museum of Modern Art (and travelling), Andy Warhol: A Retrospective, 1989, p. 429)  These two great artists understood and respected each other's early work and approach to Pop art, which at the time was still supremely humanized and not quite yet the mass-produced perfection it would become.