NEW YORK: Not all art buffs know that Andy Warhol was particularly fond of Christmas. So much so that the American artist celebrated the festive season through a variety of artworks.
Some of these are currently being sold on eBay by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to raise money for artists in need.
The ‘Happy Andy Warholidays’ sale includes a series of drawings, printed material and vintage posters authenticated by the Andy Warhol Foundation, with prices ranging from US$2,000 to US$8,000.
Most were made by the Pop Art master during the 1950s, a time when he was working as an advertising illustrator in New York. Andy Warhol would often draw and send festive greetings cards to certain clients, such as Tiffany & Co.
Works up for auction in the ‘Happy Andy Warholidays’ sale also echo the American artist’s childhood in a Slovakian Byzantine Catholic household.
“While Warhol’s style may have shifted starting in the 1960s, his generous spirit and penchant for the holidays was always evident by his creation of works of art as gifts for family, friends, and colleagues throughout his career,” Michael Dayton Hermann, director of licensing, marketing, and sales at the Andy Warhol Foundation, told AD PRO.
Proceeds from the ‘Happy Andy Warholidays’ sale, running until Dec 31 on eBay, will benefit artists facing financial difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Andy Warhol Foundation raised almost US$100,000 in gross sales from its previous auction, ‘A Celebration of Love, Sex, and Desire’, AD magazine reports.