Fred Hughes, New York
Heiner Bastian Fine Art, Berlin
Stellan Holm, New York
Christie's, New York, Post-War and Contemporary Art (Morning Session), 9 November 2005, Lot 311

Exhibition Catalogue, New York, Gagosian Gallery, Cast a Cold Eye: The Late Work of Andy Warhol, 2006, p. 85, illustrated in colour

Colours: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the overall tonality is brighter and more vibrant, with the ochre of the top section tending more towards golden sand and the light pink towards powder pink in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is light wear to all four corner tips. There are scattered hairline tension cracks in places along the extreme turnover edges of the composition. Upon very close inspection, there are three very light finger marks: one towards the bottom left corner and two towards the bottom right. There are two minute media accretions adjacent to the lower right corner, with an extremely thin crack adjacent to these. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultraviolet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Having explored death as a theme in the 1960s with the notorious 'Death and Disaster' series of 'Suicides', 'Electric Chairs' and 'Car Crashes', in the proceeding decade, Warhol adopted a more personalised treatment of mortality in the Skull series which brought classical Memento Mori iconography into the age of celebrity and the flashbulb. In these works considered to be amongst Warhol's best late screens, the artist shows that death offers equality and anonymity through anatomy – at odds with what Warhol relentlessly sought to achieve during his lifetime. In this sense, the Skull series can be interpreted as an atte♉mpt at self-derision; a reflection by the artist upon his own mortality, in the context of Valerie Solanaꦍs' attempt on his life in 1968.

For Andy Warhol, the 1970s provided the crystallisation of his recognition and fame: his portrait commissions becoming a rite-of-social-passage for the Jet Set; his approachable pop vision of art rendering him a truly global brand. Beyond the immediate iconography of his commissioned pieces, he also explored deeper, more self-reflective themes in this decade – particularly apparent in the Skull series, of which the present work is an outstanding example.❀ A s𝄹tronger, more meaningful artistic gesture undertaken by a confident Warhol, secure in his success; we are allowed to peer behind the façade of the artist's persona, and see a glimpse of the skull that lay beneath the fright wig.