ANDY WARHOL | Portrait of John McEnroe and Tatum O'Neal

Private Collection, New York (acquired directly from the artist in 1986)
Sotheby's, London, 1 July 2008, Lot 27
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Colour The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is lighter and brighter with fewer magenta undertones to the flesh in the original. Condition This work is in very good condition. Close inspection reveals some light handling marks, fine tension cracks and evidence of light rubbing to the extreme edges with some associated minute specks of loss to the extreme corner rips. Further very close inspection reveals a few media accretions in isolated places. Extremely close inspection reveals a small network of hairline cracks towards the lower left corner. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra violet light
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

For Andy Warhol, immortalisation was not bound by biology; with the snap of a polaroid and a silkscreen print, a celebrity could live forever. His iconic portraits are a defining thread in his expansive body of work. Capturing stars in their golden hour, Warhol transformed fame into relics of the modern era. Portrait of John McEnroe and Tatum O’Neal is one of his final celebrity portraits, completed just a year before the artist’s death. Warhol’s incarnation of the couple at the height of their popularity is evidence of his deep understanding of celebrity and the symbolic power that comes with it. Infatuated with fame, fashion and Hollywood from an early age, Warhol sought out celebrity culture as a means of escaping his working-class childhood in Pittsburgh. Fresh out of the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1949, he immediately moved to New York in search of the thriving art scene and the glamour of the nightlife. Warhol gravitated to portraiture as a means of manifesting stardom. Following on from his iconic portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, his fascination with the visage of fame comes full circle at the end of his career; Warhol himself is now fully integrated into the gilded world of stars, supplying him with an unlimited list of subjects for his celebrity portraits. As with the present work, Warhol transitioned from appropriating press images to using his own polaroids – his portraits becoming distinctly personal to his vision.

Executed the same year as the couple’s marriage, Portrait of John McEnroe and Tatum O’Neal captures the innocence and naïveté of the newlyweds through pastel pinks and radiant yellows. O’Neal, the youngest winner of an Academy Award, and McEnroe, with seven Grand Slam wins to his name, are themselves depicted as a trophy on canvas. Henry Geldzahler reinforces this quality as “a sort of lusty yet ethereal limbo where everyone was a star, not only for fifteen minutes, but, in this incarnation caught permanently on canvas, ‘forever’, as in ‘Diamonds are forever’” (Henry Geldzahler, 'Andy Warhol: Virginal Voyeur', in: Exh Cat., Sydney, Museum of Contemporary Art, Andy Warhol: Portraits, 1993, p. 26).