Attempted Bloggery: Liz Taylor

Showing posts with label Liz Taylor. Show all posts

Monday, October 15, 2012

Andy Warhol's Double Elvis

I got to see Andy Warhol's Double Elvis in the weeks before its auction at Sotheby's New York. The canvas is monumental, and I wasn't quite sure what to make of the large areas of flat color given the enormous scale. I found myself surprisingly grateful for the second fainter impression of Elvis over to the left, which I think helps the composition greatly.

Andy Warhol, Double Elvis [Ferus Type], 1963

http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2012/contemporary-art-evening-n08853/lot.27.html

Fig. 1Bob Dylan holding the present work at the Factory, East 47th Street, New York, 1965
Photo: Nat Finkelstein
© 2012 Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Fig. 2

Andy Warhol, Silver Liz (Ferus Type), 1963

Collection of The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh

Fig. 3

Double Marlon, 1966

Private Collection

Fig. 4

Silver Liz as Cleopatra, 1963

Art Gallery of Ontario, Gift of Mrs. Else Landauer, in memory of her husband, Walter Landauer, 1979

Fig. 5

Red Elvis, 1962

Private Collection

Fig. 6

Andy Warhol, Round Marilyn (Head of Marilyn Monroe), 1962

Private Collection

Fig. 7Film still of the entrance to the 1963 Ferus Gallery exhibition shot by Andy Warhol
© 2012 Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Fig. 8Exhibition poster (An Exhibition by Andy Warhol at the Ferus Gallery, Los Angeles, September 30, 1963) Collection of the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh
© 2012 Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Fig. 9

Andy Warhol working on an Elvis painting

Photo: Nat Finkelstein

Fig. 10

Installation view of the present work at the 1963 Ferus Gallery exhibition

Andy Warhol, Double Elvis [Ferus Type], 1963

http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2012/contemporary-art-evening-n08853/lot.27.html

487

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond

This auction of the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond supposedly will be what everyone's talking about this week. The famous diamond, which was purchased for the actress by husband Richard Burton, is set as a ring. This was formerly known as the Krupp diamond. It's purchase price was $305,000 in 1968. It is 33.19 carats and potentially internally flawless. The estimate of $2,500,000 to $3,500,000 strikes me as a potentially low estimate range.

THE ELIZABETH TAYLOR DIAMOND

A DIAMOND RING

Set with a cut-cornered rectangular-cut diamond, weighing approximately 33.19 carats, flanked on either side by a tapered baguette-cut diamond, mounted in platinum
With report 1132411262 dated 9 May 2011 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is D color, VS1 clarity; accompanied by a working diagram indicating that the clarity may be potentially internally flawless

Accompanied by a supplemental letter from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond has been determined to be a Type IIa diamond. Type IIa diamonds are the most chemically pure type of diamond and often have exceptional optical transparency. Type IIa diamonds were first identified as originating from India (particularly from the Golconda region) but have since been recovered in all major diamond-producing regions of the world. Among famous gem diamonds, the 530.20 carat Cullinan I and the 105.60 carat Koh-i-noor are examples of Type IIa

Accompanied by a hardbound Monograph from the Gemological Institute of America, featuring additional photography, data collection charts and gemological research, attesting to the rarity and prestige of the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond

Estimate

$2,500,000 - $3,500,000

Price Realized December 13, 2011

$8,818,500

Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium and do not reflect costs, financing fees or application of buyer’s or seller’s credits.

Sale Information

Sale 2623 Lot 80

The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor: The Legendary Jewels, Evening Sale (I)

13 December 2011

New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Special Notice

Please note that the copyright, and any and all associated intellectual property and other rights for this item are exclusively retained by the Trustees of the Estate of Elizabeth Taylor.

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/the-elizabeth-taylor-diamond-a-diamond/5507955/lot/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5507955&sid=483ad770-a2d0-4596-b3ba-c5dff3f18646

My memory is of Elizabeth's Taylor's other more famous diamond ring, featuring the Taylor-Burton Diamond, which was an astonishing 69 carats. Burton purchased this one from Cartier, purportedly for $1.1 million. It was featured in the "Here's Lucy" episode of September 14, 1970 in which Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, playing themselves, memorably appeared on Lucille Ball's show. Perhaps predictably, the ring got stuck on Lucy's finger.

After the couple's divorce, this diamond was sold in 1978 for $5,000,000. It is not a part of the present sale.