Andy Warhol's iconic image of Mao Zedong, considered one of his
most sensational pieces, is being put up for auction by the
Swiss-based Daros Collection, owner of one of the greatest private
holdings of Warhol paintings, Christie's auction house has
announced.
"This work has the most prestigious provenance, staggering
wall-power and is literally an icon of the 20th century," said
Brett Gorvy, the head of post-war and contemporary art at
Christie's.
Based on China's official portrait of its former leader,
Warhol's silk-screen portrait measures 206 centimetres by 155
centimetres and depicts Mao in a dark blue jacket against a light
blue background.
It is set to be auctioned at Christie's Rockefeller Center
galleries as part of its evening sale of post-war and contemporary
art yesterday. It was expected to bring between US$8 million and
US$12 million.
Warhol was not shy about cashing in on what he perceived to be
the capitalist collector's fascination with China and its
leader.
"Andy Warhol was in love with fame," said Gorvy. "At the moment
in history, 1971-72, it was the reopening of China to the West.
China was creating new relations with America. Nixon had gone over
to China so Chairman Mao's image was everywhere and Warhol captured
that. He understood ... that it was famous not just for that moment
but famous forever."
The auction house said "Mao" was Warhol's first political
portrait, successfully paving the way for his later
politically-laden works "Lenin" and "Hammer and Sickle."
"He chose Mao because he really was the most famous person in
the world at that particular moment," said Gorvy. "He wanted to
represent him as he was represented then all over China as this
great icon."
The silk-screen image was derived from an official portrait of
Mao on the cover of a book entitled "Quotations from Chairman Mao
Tse-Tung."
It was one of a series of 10 large scale portraits Warhol made
of Mao in 1972 with art experts considering "Mao" to be the best in
the group.
Besides "Mao," the auction was to offer seven other Warhols from
other private collections, including "Orange Marilyn" (1962),
depicting Marilyn Monroe, with a presale estimate of US$10 million
to US$15 million, and "Sixteen Jackies" (1964), portraying
Jacqueline Kennedy, estimated at between US$12 million and US$16
million.
In May, an early iconoclastic work by Warhol of a Campbell's
soup can titled, "Small Torn Campbell's Soup Can (Pepper Pot),"
sold for almost US$11.8 million at Christie's.
(China Daily via Agencies November 16, 2006)