Andy Warhol - Triple Elvis 1963
Triple Elvis 1963
208x175cm silkscreen ink and silver paint on linen
Sold for: USD 81.9 million
Auction house: Christie's, New York
Sale date: 12 November 2014
Seller: WestSpiel
Buyer: Anonymous buyer
From Christie's:
Standing with his trademark proud stance, Andy Warhol’s rare triple portrait of Elvis Presley dominates this shimmering canvas just as the singer dominated the cultural landscape of the 1950s and 1960s. First shown at the artist’s important 1963 exhibition at Irving Blum’s Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, Warhol’s Elvis paintings join the pantheon of the Pop master’s Hollywood superstars. It was only natural that, having portrayed Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando, he should also turn to Elvis as his subject matter. While the others were famous movie stars, none of them achieved the immense and unprecedented star power that Elvis attracted during the crest of his early career in the mid-1950s.