Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, 1975 (Authenticated by the Warhol Foundation)

Own a distinctive piece of Pop Art history! 

An impressive piece of Pop Art history! A must-have for fans and collectors of both Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein: This unique Polaroid was taken by one Pop Art legend, Andy Warhol, of his most formidable contemporary and, in many respects, rival, Roy Lichtenstein. One of only a few portraits Andy Warhol took of Roy Lichtenstein, during one tense photo shoot. Both iconic artists, colleagues and, perhaps lesser known to the public, rivals, would be represented at the time by the renowned Leo Castelli Gallery. The truth is they were really more rivals than friends. (the rivalry intensified when Warhol, who was working with Walt Disney, discovered that Lichtenstein painted Mickey Mouse before he did!) Leo Castelli was committed to Roy Lichtenstein, and, it's easy to forget today, wasn't that interested in Warhol as he considered Lichtenstein the greater talent and he could relate better with Roy on a personal level. However, Ivan Karp, who worked at Castelli, was very interested in Warhol, as were some powerful European dealers, as well as many wealthy and influential American and European collectors. That was the start of Warhol's bypassing the traditional gallery model - so that dealers like Castelli could re-discover him after everybody else had.
Warhol is known to have taken hundreds of self-portrait polaroid photographs - shoe boxes full - and he took many dozens of images of celebrities like Blondie and Farrah Fawcett. But only a small number of photographic portraits of fellow Pop Art legend Roy Lichtenstein -- each unique - are known to have appeared on the market over the past half a century - all from the same photo session. This is one of them. There is another Polaroid - from this same (and only) sitting, in the permanent collection of the Getty Museum in California. 

Click HERE or below for the link to the Getty image:

http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/125799/andy-warhol-portrait-of-roy-lichtenstein-american-1975/

There really weren't any other collaborations between these two titans, making this portrait quite extraordinary. It is fascinating to study Roy Lichtenstein's face and demeanor in this photograph, in the context of the great sense of competition, but perhaps even greater, albeit grudging respect, they had for each other's fame and success - if not the work. Like Leo Castelli, Roy Lichtenstein was Jewish of European descent; whereas Warhol was Catholic and quintessentially American, though also of European (Polish) descent. They were never going to be friends, but this portrait, perhaps even arranged at the suggestion of the prescient Leo Castelli, represents the uneasy acknowledgement by each that there would be room at the top for both of them.

Measurements: 

9  7/16 x 8  9/16 x 9/16 inches (frame)

4.16 x 3.15 inches (sheet)

SIGNATURE

Estate Stamped: Stamped with the Andy Warhol Estate, Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts stamp,  numbered "B 512536P", with the Estate of Andy Warhol stamp and inscribed UP on the reverse. Bears the Warhol Foundation unique inventory number. 

PROVENANCE

Authenticated and Stamped by the Estate of Andy Warhol/Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; originally sold by Christie's on behalf of the Estate