Andy Warhol
“Triple Elvis [Ferus Type]” (1963) and “Four Marlons” (1966)
Andy Warhol
“Eight Elvises” (1963)
Privately sold for a reported $100 million in 2008
Warhol’s ‘Triple Elvis’ and ‘Four Marlons’ at Christie’s On November 12th 2014, Christie’s will auction two iconic portraits by Andy Warhol, ‘Triple Elvis [Ferus Type]’ and ‘Four Marlons’. Together, these works are expected to realize in the region of $130 million.]]>
September 6th, 2014, source: Christie’s
Christie’s is delighted to present for the first time at auction, the three greatest cultural icons of the 20th century reunited, representing the ultimate heroes of art, music and cinema. Two iconic portraits by Andy Warhol featuring the towering figures of Elvis Presley and Marlon Brando, the most important male celebrities in Warhol’s pantheon of stars, which epitomize the archetype of cool and glamour and exude a raw sexuality and intense power rarely found in his work.
The arrival on the market of Triple Elvis [Ferus Type] and Four Marlons, two of the greatest icons of the 20th century culture, never seen at auction before, is an exceptional and unique opportunity for collectors and institutions to acquire iconic masterpieces.
Triple Elvis [Ferus Type] – 1963
Standing 82 inches tall and 69 inches wide, the full-figure triple portrait of the singer turned Hollywood star is one of a series of artworks that Warhol produced for his 1963 show at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, the triple version is one of the rarest. Standing with his trademark proud stance, legs apart and his pistol recently drawn from the holster hanging from his famous hips, Andy Warhol’s rendition of Elvis Presley dominates the canvas just as the singer dominated the cultural landscape of the 1950s and 1960s. This image joins the pantheon of the Pop master’s Hollywood superstars and it was only natural that, having portrayed Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando, he should turn to Elvis as his subject matter. For Warhol, who was fascinated by popular culture, fame and celebrity, Elvis was the perfect subject.
Four Marlons – 1966
This dramatic rendition of Marlon Brando, his dark inscrutable eyes staring out nonchalantly from underneath his peaked cap, provides an unrivalled portrayal of one of the greatest twentieth century cultural icons. Displayed here at the peak of his fame, Brando’s appearance in the 1953 film “The Wild One” (from which Warhol took this source image), captured a rebelliousness that, in the mind of the public at least, had subsumed the previously acquiescent American teenager and became something of an anti-hero for an entire generation of misunderstood youth. In “Four Marlons”, Warhol took a publicity still from the movie and rendered it four times across a vast expanse of raw canvas, creating a larger than life portrayal of Brando and his character Johnny Strabler. This work is the only one from the series with the four portraits covering the entire canvas, executed on raw and unprimed linen, the material quality of “Four Marlons” echoes the rough masculinity of its subject.
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