Long-Unseen Andy Warhol Art To Premiere At Indianapolis Gallery

A collection of drawings and photographs by Andy Warhol that were never seen in public will have their first-ever exhibition next month at Indianapolis’ Long-Sharp Gallery.

What Happened: According to an Indianapolis Star report, the exhibit “Andy Warhol: A Survey of Portrait and Figurative Drawings from the Mid-1950s” will open Aug. 6, which would have been Warhol’s 93rd birthday; it is also the 15th anniversary of the gallery’s opening.

The exhibit consists of nearly two dozen drawings that Warhol created in the 1950s of prominent theatrical stars and members of New York’s then-underground gay scene.

It will also feature a dozen Polaroid and gelatin silver photographs made by the artist in the last few years before his death in 1987.

The gallery acquired the works on exhibit from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in Pittsburgh. The drawings will be on sale ranging from $14,000 to $125,000, while the photographs are being offered from between $12,000 to $35,000. The exhibit runs through September and the gallery is planning a second Warhol show later this year.

Related Link: Art Collector Claims Discovery Of Long-Lost Van Gogh Painting

Why It Matters: Warhol became one of the most recognized figures in the 1960s pop art movement through a series of silkscreen paintings celebrating larger-than-life Hollywood icons including Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, along with works that elevated seemingly quotidian packaging designs for Campbell’s Soup CPB and Coca-Cola KO into being considered as works of art.

Among art collectors, Warhol’s work has never fallen out of fashion. The highest amount ever paid for a Warhol original was $105.4 million at a 2013 Sotheby’s auction for “Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster).” According to Heritage Auctions' page related to ongoing Warhol auctions, “His silkscreens can have a large range price, but even on the low end, they are typically at least $10,000 or more at auction.”

Photo: Screen shot of Andy Warhol being interviewed by Mean Gene Okerlund for the 1985 "Wrestlemania" broadcast. Photo via Wrestling News Media.