This year, Christie's auction house has decided to focus attention on the New York fashion world, and one of its most important proponents, Andy Warhol. Warhol was integral to the style scene for not only his love for department stores, but also his relationship with internationally recognized designers and his fascination with aesthetics and the image. Warhol represented fashion through his own attentive eyes, producing a diverse body of work, from drawings of accessories to photography portraits and design sketches. Christie's auction house is organizing an online-only auction to benefit the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts from September 11â25. The auction counts 120 art pieces and will display some unknown prints, photographs, and drawings. The event is part of a series entitled âAndy Warhol at Christie'sâ that started in June with the auction âFor Members Only: Eyes on the Guise,â which showed some of Warhol's nude male portraits. The current collection "Fashion Sessions" proves that the âKing of Pop,â as he was often reffered as by the media, created more than print reproductions. Christieâs auction unveils Warholâs more artistic and abstract side, with runway shots from fashion shows in the 1980s to portraits of major fashion icons including Yves Saint Laurent.
(c) 2013 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Andy Warhol was known for his friendship with many important fashion icons, among them Diane von Furstenberg, Karl Lagerfeld, and Yves Saint Laurent, as shown in this photograph. Taken in 1972, the portrait is a close shot of a 36-year-old Saint Laurent's face, with his head on his fist, looking contemplative and serious. The designer's outfit is elegant and a bit eccentric, with the black-and-yellow polka-dotted bow tie paired with a multicolored striped shirt underneath his black vest.
(c) 2013 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
"When you think about it, department stores are kind of like museums," Warhol once said while creating window displays at a department store, reflecting his obsession with clothes, accessories, and most importantly, how they influenced his work. This picture, entitled "Shoes," was taken in 1977 and shows women's elegant feet in white and red stilettos.
(c) 2013 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
In this photograph, Warhol pictures an "unidentified model," as he puts it, "circa 1980," looking radiant in all-white fringe pants and high heels.
(c) 2013 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
In Warhol's piece called "Fashion," photographed in 1981, he pictures a woman's bod, from her lips to her waist. Here, he focuses on the detailsâred lipstick, an ostentatious necklace, and shoulder padsâwhich are iconic fashion garments. Like some of his other famous works, the woman is striking three slightly different poses, which creates a series that resembles a photo-booth.
(c) 2013 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Warhol captures what could be the inside of any woman's purse: a pouch, a wallet, bracelets, gloves, a ring, makeup powder, a scarf, a hair clip, and two angel figurines. He drew the piece "circa 1955" and simply called it "Multiple Fashion Accessories."
(c) 2013 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
In this photograph, French designer Jean Paul Gaultier flirts with the camera in 1984. A 32-year-old Gaultier seems to be almost seducing the photographer with his fierce gaze while wearing a burgundy vest and a gold yellow tie with diamond prints, all under a silk red-and-blue robe.
(c) 2013 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
