Description:

Warhol Andy

Andy Warhol Signed First Day Cover, From his Blast Off to Superstar Phase in 1964

 

Andy Warhol signs a United Nations 7cent first day cover with art craft cachet, 6.5" x 3.75". Boldly signed with heavy black marker by Warhol as "Andy Warhol" sprawled across the envelope. Postmarked "United Nations, May 29, 1964, New York." Fine condition.

 

An absolutely fantastic piece signed during Warhol's rocket rise to fame with 1964 being a pivotal year for Warhol. One month prior to this dated First Day cover, Warhol had just sparked a minor scandal at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. As part of a prominent set of public commissions for the Philip Johnson-designed New York State Pavilion’s exterior, Warhol chose to enlarge mug shots from a NYPD booklet featuring the 13 most wanted criminals of 1962. Forming a chessboard of front and profile views, 13 Most Wanted Men was installed by April 15, 1964, and painted over by Fair officials’ direction with silver paint a few days later. When the Fair opened to the public, all that was visible was a large silver square. Warhol also just premiered his Box Sculpture (including Brillo) which premiered April 21, the day before the World's Fair. While another pivotal event was the 1964 exhibit The American Supermarket, a show held in Paul Bianchini's Upper East Side gallery where Warhol's painting of a can of Campbell's soup cost $1,500, while each autographed can sold for $6. It was also during this important era of the 1960s that Warhol began to make paintings of iconic American objects such as dollar bills, mushroom clouds, electric chairs, Campbell's Soup Cans, Coca-Cola bottles, and multitudes of celebrities.

 

His fascination with the everyday, the mundane, the common, can perhaps be summed up in his philosophy of "What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca-Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca-Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca-Cola, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it."

 

Here we have a perfect Warhol signed example of his 1964 attitude of elevating a common piece, this one with historical significance. This first day cover depicts President Johnson one month after the death of President Kennedy, with the UN insignia and postmark.



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