What could be more Warholian than a flash sale of celebrity portraiture on a democratized, accessible auction platform?
As of this morning, 50 polaroids, posters, and black-and-white photos by Andy Warhol have gone up for sale on eBay within a startlingly affordable price range of $500 to $24,000. Proceeds from the sale, titled “Andy Warhol: Social Network,” will benefit the Andy Warhol Foundation’s philanthropic efforts, a modern reflection of the artist’s own passion for uplifting, encouraging, and supporting the practice of other contemporary artists.
Appealing to those passionate about Warhol’s work despite the depth of their pockets is the chief goal of the sale, according to Michael Dayton Hermann, the foundation’s director of licensing, marketing, and sales.
“This initiative has proven demand from global collectors of all budgets to purchase with ease and with purpose by utilizing a democratic platform while directly supporting the advancement of the visual arts,” he said.
Within the sale, you’ll find several of Warhol’s recurring cast of characters, such as Candy Darling, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Debbie Harry, Marsha P. Johnson, and Mick Jagger. Alongside the expected crew are some lesser-seen portraits of folks such as Ozzy Osbourne, Studio 54-owner Steve Rubell, Martin Scorsese, André Leon Talley, Leo Castelli, and Jonas Mekas.
The Polaroid portraits are priced between $2,500 to $7,000, silkscreens of trademark Warhol imagery like cows and Marilyn Monroe are on sale for $6,500, while rare posters and books are going for as little as $100 to $700. The sale is on through April 3.
This highly accessible sale is intended to commemorate the Foundation’s achievement of $3 million in total sales with eBay for Charity, the philanthropic arm of the online marketplace. The sum was raised through the sale of 800 individual works, with an average price of $3,787—a feat in making Warhol’s art more widely accessible.
After all, it was Warhol himself who said, “What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest.” Happy hunting!
