Warhol, Andy

The complete portfolio, comprising 16 offset lithograph plates (15 handcolored) (each 9 3/4 x 13 3/4 in.; 248 x 349mm), with text by Ralph Pomeroy, lettered by Julia Warhola; occasional very minimal soiling at edges. Handcolored offset lithograph portfolio cover, lettered by Julia Warhola (when folded, 20 x 13 in.; 557 x 330mm); light browning, some wear, horizontal fold, colored pencil marks on verso.  Shoe and Leg, handcolored offset lithograph plate (24 7/8 x 19 in.; 632 x 483mm); vertical and horizontal fold.

Susumu Ikuta (see catalogue note)

Feldman & Schellmann IV. 69B–85; Reading Warhol pp. 94, 100–106, 294

Condition as described in catalogue entry.
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.

A rare complete set of Andy Warhol's iconic portfolio, with an early trial cover on which his mother, Julia Warhola, has mispelled "Recherche" as "Pecherche".

This witty collection of shoe "portraits" was most likely done in 1955, the year Warhol secured a contract from the I. Miller shoe company to produce a weekly advertisement to be run in the New York Times.  At this period, Warhol was also collecting shoes. Earlier in his career, he had been commissioned to produce shoe drawings for Glamour magazine.  His earliest examples were rejected by editor Tina Fredericks, who explained to him that the point was not to show shoes with character, but shoes that had not been worn.  With À la recherche du shoe perdu, Warhol could indulge his whim for endowing shoes with strong and definite personality traits. The captions, written by the poet Ralph Pomeroy, fall into step with the artist's footwear fantasies.

Mrs. Warhola's lettering is not printed on the portfolio cover, but is handwritten on each set.  This is most likely one of the earliest covers, done before the mistake was caught.  Warhol gave this set to his friend, the potter and ceramicist Susumu Ikuta. Like most of Warhol's private projects of this period, the handcoloring was done by his friends and varies from set to set.  It is possible that Ikuta himself was the colorist for this set.

Nina Schleif, in Reading Warhol, explains the reason for the rarity of complete sets of the portfolio: "The book certainly had recognition value in New York, but a more ambitious approach can be seen in the individual sheets, as Donna De Salvo observed. Placed loose in the folded cover, the pages look like separate plates. Elegantly formulated, they invite the reader to take them out and appreciate them in isolation …. Recognizing this, the proprietors of the café Serendipity 3 proposed to Warhol that he frame individual pages and offer them for sale, a lucrative arrangement for both sides. The extant copies of À la recherche du shoe perdu have between thirteen and sixteen sheets, and some of the copies (the deluxe edition) have an additional oversize page showing a detail of a leg wearing a shoe [sic]" (Reading Warhol). Feldman and Schellmann catalogue Shoe and Leg separately from the À la recherche portfolio; however, they write that Warhol created it at approximately the same date and that some portfolios include this work. Warhol's original intention is not known.

One of less than 100 sets created. Complete sets of the portfolio are almost never seen on the market. A vivid and beautifully colored set.