Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger (two sided), ca. 1975

Andy Warhol

Mick Jagger (two sided), ca. 1975

Photographic acetate negative, acquired directly from Warhol's printer and accompanied by a letter of provenance from Chromacomp

This work was acquired directly by our gallery from Chromacomp Inc, the printer of Andy Warhol's Mick Jagger serious of silkscreens in the 1970s - not an auction or third party. The letter of authenticity from the publisher's representative is addressed directly to the director.

Measurements:
Frame:
26 x 21.5 x 1.5 inches
Acetate:
20.5 x 15.5 inches

As a testament to the historical importance of this collection, we recently sold Andy Warhol's acetate of Conceptual Artist Joseph Kosuth (from this collection) -- to the artist Joseph Kosuth - himself, that of Baby Jane Holzer to the socialite herself, Jason McCoy to his family, and Tina Freeman to her representative, and recently Warhol's acetate of multi-billionaire Greek shipping tycoon and philanthropist Stavros Niarchos, also from our collection, sold to his grandson. Acetates from this collection have sold for up to $20,000. This is an original, unique black and white photographic negative acetate taken by Andy Warhol of Mick Jagger. It was used as inspiration to create Warhol's iconic series of silkscreens of Mick Jagger. The present work is double sided, and it has 'rouge paste' the material that Warhol and his printer used to create contrasts in the printmaking process. The condition is good - exactly as it was delivered from the Factory to Chromacomp.

As Bob Colacello, former Editor in Chief of Interview Magazine (and right hand man to Andy Warhol) explained, "Many hands were involved in the rather mechanical silkscreening process.... but only Andy in all the years I knew him, worked on the acetates." An acetate is a photographic negative transferred to a transparency, allowing an image to be magnified and projected onto a screen. As only Andy worked on the acetates, it was the last original step prior to the silkscreening of an image, and the most important element in Warhol's creative process for silkscreening. This acetate was brought by Warhol to Eunice and Jackson Lowell, owners of Chromacomp, a fine art printing studio in New York City, and was acquired directly from the Lowell's private collection. During the 1970s and 1980s, Chromacomp was the premier atelier for fine art limited edition silkscreen prints; indeed, Chromacomp was the largest studio producing fine art prints in the world for artists such as Andy Warhol, Leroy Neiman, Erte, Robert Natkin, Larry Zox and many more. All of the plates were done by hand and in some cases photographically. Famed printer Alexander Heinrici worked for Eunice & Jackson Lowell at Chromacomp and brought Andy Warhol in as an account. Shortly after, Warhol or his workers brought in several boxes of photographs, paper and acetates and asked Jackson Lowell to use his equipment to enlarge certain images or portions of images. Warhol made comments and or changes and asked the Lowells to print some editions; others were printed elsewhere. Chromacomp ended up printing a number of Warhol silkscreens and, most notably, the iconic Mick Jagger series based on the box of photographic acetates, both positives and negatives. The Lowell's allowed the printer to be named as Alexander Heinrici rather than Chromacomp, since Heinrici was the one who brought the account in. Other images were never printed by Chromacomp - they were simply being considered by Warhol. After working with Chromacomp, Warhol left the remaining acetates, including this highly collectible one of MICK JAGGER with Eunice and Jackson Lowell. After the Lowells closed the shop, the photographs were packed away where they remained for more than a quarter of a century. Even in his lifetime, it is well documented that Warhol recognized the unique value of the acetates, as he would often exchange them for services with silkscreen shops. It measures approximately 15.5 inches by 12.5 inches. It is unevenly cut by Andy Warhol himself, exactly as he brought it to the Lowells. Buyer will receive a letter from the Lowell family representative confirming the work's authenticity and provenance. Many of the acetates from the Chromacomp collection have already been acquired by museums, galleries, dealers and collectors around the world, and most recently a selection of acetates was exhibited, alongside the silkscreens Warhol created from them, at a museum in Naples, Italy.

Provenance:
Acquired directly from the collection of Eunice and Jackson Lowell, the owners of the renowned printer Chromacomp, Inc. The work was given by Warhol to Chromacomp