All About Andy Warhol

The market for Andy Warhol's work is and is an entire ecosystem unto itself and a substantial backbone of the contemporary art market. Warhol is considered to be the most foundational staple of a contemporary art collection, the father of the Pop art movement, and one of the highest-grossing artists at auction and a regular across morning, afternoon, and evening sales and art fairs worldwide.

Warhol produced approximately 12,000 paintings during his lifetime across an illustrious 25+ year career. There is a lot of variability across decades and series, and for this reason, his work is highly collectible in nature. Several of his passionate collectors own north of 50 to 100 works each; portraits are particularly collectable.

Most of his portraits were produced in the 40 x 40 inch scale, which really just feels perfect in person. Although his auction record for a single work is a staggering $195,000,000, You might find it intriguing to learn that it is still possible to purchase a lesser-known Warhol canvas today for under $100,000. Many smaller scale and/or lesser colors are still surprisingly affordable. A seminal 1960s work such as Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley, however, can bring well north of $50m.

No two Warhol paintings are perfectly similar, as the screen pull varied each time. Warhol connoisseurs know this, and the difference between a weak pull and a a good pull is obvious and can substantial alter the presence and desirability of the work. The strong pulls are a much clearer, crisper, bolder image where the weaker pulls are more faint in appearance.

Warhol was a shrewd businessman, financially very successful during his life (which is exceedingly rare for an artist), and well understood the importance of treating an art career like a business. He fueled this vision with a powerful personal brand, prolific output, robust global distribution, and shameless self-promotion.

Warhol’s portrait market is highly variable and ranges widely over the years. As a general rule of thumb, works from the seminal 1960s are most desirable, iconic celebrities are the market breadwinners, and iconic females in beautiful palettes perform the best. He was also a prolific and dedicated filmmaker, photographer, socialite, and magazine editor. Warhol continues to inspire the world for his forward-thinking approach and commercial mindset, which was decades ahead of time in philosophy, and it’s no surprise that the market for his works continues across generations.