Warhol's Dollar Sign

This week, I used a silkscreen image of a dollar sign by Andy Warhol as an illustration for a little ramble I wrote about the fiscal cliff negotiations. My sensible essay was ignored, of course. In fact, despite my rather generous offer to impose a binding settlement on Washington's feckless politicians by the year-end deadline and restore sanity to our nation's dysfunctional capitol, I didn't hear back from anyone in high office. So I guess our politicians would rather handle things their way. We're all very impressed, I'm sure.

I felt bad about using this Warhol image as a mere illustration. As a work of art, it's quite worthy on its own terms. I got to see it at Sotheby's on the day I went to see Edvard Munch's The Scream. It's small but striking, and viewed up close it appears to have some random effects as the result of the silkscreening process. Here's a better look at it.

Andy Warhol, Dollar Sign, 1981

Sotheby's New York Sale N08554, May 10, 2012

 http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2012/contemporary-art-day-n08854/lot.221.html

Andy Warhol, Dollar Sign, 1981
Sotheby's New York Sale N08554, May 10, 2012

 http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2012/contemporary-art-day-n08854/lot.221.html

Sotheby's Catalogue Notes and Provenance

http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2012/contemporary-art-day-n08854/lot.221.html

Fig. 1 Andy Warhol, Dollar Sign, 1980
Private Collection ?2012
Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts /
Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

561