Andy Warhol’s 1973 ‘Mao’ Realizes $3.65 Million to Lead Heritage’s Dec. 10 Modern & Contemporary Art Auction

Warhol’s Muhammad Ali portfolio, Ed Ruscha’s Double Standard top Prints & Multiples event, bringing one-day total to $8.9 million DOWNLOAD DIGITAL PRESS KIT DALLAS, Texas (Dec. 11, 2024) — On December 10, the enduring power and popularity of America’s King of Pop Art was proved once again as iconic works by Andy Warhol led Heritage’s Modern & Contemporary Art Signature® Auction as well as its Prints & Multiples Signature® Auction. The one-day total for the two events resulted in $8,909,376. First up: Heritage’s Modern & Contemporary Art event was defined by works from the artists who have shaped our Post-War cultural landscape, with an impressive number of works far exceeding their high estimates. The top-selling lot, a 1973 painting from Warhol’s renowned Mao series, realized $3.65 million. This example of Warhol’s portrait of Mao Tse-tung is one of the most desirable from the late artist’s iconic portrait series of China’s Chairman. Warhol’s decision in the early ’70s to take on such a loaded subject marked his return to form, this time with a knowing impulse to turn our definition of “celebrity,” if not painting itself, into a challenge for an evolving art world that increasingly embraced the conceptual underpinnings of Warhol’s genius. The work’s provenance is undisputably stellar, having been in the collections of both longtime Warhol partner, acclaimed designer Jed Johnson, and later to Johnson’s brother Jay Johnson and his partner Tom Cashin. As the critic and Warhol historian Blake Gopnik wrote for Heritage about this work and the series: “His Mao works might be just more riffs on cultural superstars, taking off from the Marilyns and Jackies and Elvises of the early 1960s. The Maos are that, of course — the Chairman was certainly an international celebrity, with a face at least as well-known as any actor’s — but they also bear important witness to Warhol’s deep engagement with the particular artistic moment he was in.” Says Ed Beardsley, Heritage’s Vice President and Managing Director of Fine & Decorative Arts, “We were so pleased to offer Warhol’s acrylic and silkscreen Mao. While previewing this iconic piece by 20th-century Pop Art superstar Andy Warhol, it was rewarding to connect with collectors in London, Beverly Hills, New York and Dallas — one of the advantages of our multi-city previews.” Other stellar performers in the auction included a 1956 Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita oil on canvas titled Bouquet de roses dans un vase blanc et bleu, which sold for$218,750 and a 2007 steel work by Warhol’s fellow Pop iconRobert Indiana titled Prem (Hindi Love), which brought $187,500. An impressive number of works in this tightly curated event far exceeded their estimates, some many times over, and made for an especially satisfying day at the block as more than 500 bidders shaped the high energy throughout the day’s first event: An untitled sculpture by Leonardo Drew sold for $162,500 against an estimate of $40,000-60,000; an untitled 1997 work by Helen Frankenthaler saw $106,250 (estimate $40,000-60,000); a 1986 painting by Emmi Whitehorse sold for $87,500 (estimate $10,000-15,000); a 1988 painting by Paul George Laffoley, Jr. titled The Solitron brought $57,500 (estimate $8,000-12,000). A 1960 painting, Sea Form no. 8 by Hawaiian artist Tadashi Sato, realized $106,250 (against a high estimate of $30,000), and a 1976 painting by Alfredo Castaneda, titled No, hammered at $87,500 (its high estimate was also $30,000). Continuing this trend and signaling end-of-year collector enthusiasm in the category were two strong results for paintings by George Rodrigue; while both had high estimates at $30,000, his She's Got a Ring Around My Neck, 1998, sold for $68,750 and his I’ll Come Again, 1999, sold for $50,000. A 2021 painting by Hunt Slonem, Pink Ascension Dianthus, sold for $32,500, more than double its high estimate. Not an hour after the Modern & Contemporary event wrapped, Heritage opened its Prints & Multiples Signature® Auction and once again, the man Lou Reed dubbed “Drella” dominated the afternoon, along with his fellow travelers in Pop Art’s upper strata. The auction totaled $2,530,938 and drew nearly 700 bidders. Warhol’s editioned works saw excellent results starting with his phenomenal complete portfolio of four screenprints, Muhammad Ali, from 1978.This significant portrait set capturing the world’s most legendary athlete sold for $237,500. And Warhol’s momentum via his portraits in this event did not end there: Warhol’s John Wayne, from his 1986 Cowboys and Indians series, realized $137,500, and his 1975 portrait of the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger sold for $106,250. His Absolute Vodka lithograph from 1985 realized $62,500, well above its $16,000 high estimate. America’s evolution is charted by its greatest artists, and an iconic editioned work by living legend Ed Ruscha that depicts a Standard Oil-owned mid-century gas station (still extant in Amarillo, Texas on the old Route 66) was the top-selling lot in the auction. The museum-worthy screenprint Double Standard, from 1969, sold for $343,750. And Frank Stella’s etching Talladega Three II, from Circuits, 1982, sold for $93,750. Another lot that sailed far past expectations came from Ruscha: His lithograph Cities, from his 1982 World Series, doubled its high estimate. Warhol’s younger friend and downtown collaborator, the beloved Keith Haring, had a handful of career-defining editioned works in this auction, and his Pop Shop II (complete portfolio, four works), created in 1988, sold for $87,500. Haring’s Untitled (Print Four), from Pop Shop IV, 1989, sold for $42,500. "The results from our December 10 auctions are a testament to the enduring brilliance and cultural resonance of the artists who defined and redefined the Modern Art landscape,"says Frank Hettig, Heritage’s Vice President of Modern & Contemporary Art."From Warhol's commanding Mao painting to Ed Ruscha's iconic Double Standard, these works embody the stories, ideas and cultural shifts that continue to shape our world. The incredible enthusiasm from collectors worldwide speaks not only to the artistic legacy of these visionaries but also to Heritage’s unparalleled ability to connect these masterpieces with passionate audiences." Complete results for Heritage’s December 10 Modern & Contemporary Art Signature® Auction can be found at HA.com/8182, and results for Heritage’s December 10 Prints & Multiples Signature® Auction can be found at HA.com/8179. Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world's largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet's most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 1,750,000 registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of 6,000,000 past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit. For breaking stories, follow us: HA.com/Facebook and HA.com/Twitter . Link to this release or view prior press releases . Hi-Res images available: Christina Rees, Public Relations Specialist 214-409-1341 or Christina Rees@HA.com