Friday, July 12, 2013

Value Added-- "Historical Echoes: Andy Warhol and the Art of Money "

From the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Liberty Street Economics blog:
Money has been a topic of keen interest throughout history. As noted in a previous post, this fascination has extended into artwork created centuries ago through modern times. One artist who expanded the concept of what people perceive as art was Andy Warhol.

     Warhol was one of the most well-known American artists of the twentieth century, and a master of self-promotion. In the 1960s, Andy Warhol was a successful commercial artist working in advertising, but looking to break into art world. He created 200 One Dollar Bills in 1962, during the beginnings of the Pop Art movement....MORE
     ...Forty-seven years later, 200 One Dollar Bills went on the block for auction. In November 2009, Warhol’s piece of artwork was expected to auction at Sotheby’s for approximately $8 to $12 million. Instead, 200 One Dollar Bills sold for $43,762,500 to an anonymous buyer. Crunching the numbers, this comes out to a whopping $218,812 per screen printed dollar!...

Tobias Meyer and "200 One Dollar Bills" by Warhol
Tobias Meyer, Worldwide Head Contemporary Art, Sotheby's, with Lot 22, "200 One Dollar Bills," by Andy Warhol, 1962, silkscreen and pencil on canvas, 80 ¼ by 92 ¼ inches