The 1950s’ auction captures artist’s ‘formative years’

Metro

By Dean Balsamini

Mm! Mm! Good!

They may not be Campbell Soup cans, but tasty, original works from pop art icon Andy Warhol’s formative years are currently under the hammer.

“Andy Warhol by Hand: The 1950s” predates his exploration into screenprinting, according to Artnet Auctions, which is hosting the online sale.

The creme de la creme is Warhol’s ink on paper “Butterfly Lady” circa 1953 — which could bring upwards of $100,000 — the highest pre-sale piece in the 27-lot auction.

“It is a prominent example of a figure with rather androgenous facial features. In fact, it has recently been suggested that this drawing is a self-portrait of the artist in ‘low drag,’ a self-portrait in disguise since he was not presenting himself in drag at the time,” the lot description notes.

The “rare-to-market drawings offer a vivid picture of Warhol’s early, whirlwind years in New York City,” the website trumpets.

Items up for bid through June 20.

A portrait of English actress Hilda Trevelyan — best remembered for creating the role of Wendy in “Peter Pan” — is expected to sell for at least $20,000.

And an ink and watercolor on paper Christmas wreath with rose flower buds and a red ribbon at the bottom could fetch $40,000.

The piece was likely created as part of a series of Christmas cards Warhol began designing for Tiffany & Co in 1956.

“The artist was drawing incessantly, both for his personal projects as well as for commercial purposes,” Artnet Auctions’ Johannes Vogt says. “These works let us see the artist’s hand, his draughtsmanship and abundance of creativity paired with his early interest in repetition of subject matter. ”

Price of his early sketches can’t hold a candle to his later works.

In May 2022 his silkscreen of Marilyn Monroe — “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” — sold for a mind-blowing $195 million at a Christie’s charity auction, setting a record for the most expensive piece of American art ever sold.

An East Village rowhouse where Warhol lived in the late 1960s recently hit the market for $6.19 million. 

Warhol died in February 1987 at New York Hospital due to complications following a surgery to remove his gall bladder.