Andy Warhol Prints to Buy Now: The Upper Range

Andy Warhol’s most important prints rank with the greatest contemporary prints ever made. At the peak of the pyramid are the Marilyns. One begins to run out of superlatives when you discuss this body of work. Suffice to say, they check all the boxes when it comes to wall power, historic significance, and investment potential. And like procuring any great work of art, finding the right Marilyn requires patience and tenacity. It goes without saying that if you come across one in good condition, priced at the current “going rate,” you should grab it. It’s rarely worth holding out for one down the road that might be a “better deal” – it just doesn’t work that way.

What other Warhol upper range prints should you consider? One idea is to buy an impression of The Scream (After Munch). Part of its appeal is how it relates to Warhol’s select group of works which depict “art about art.” In this case, Warhol reinterpreted Edvard Munch’s lithograph, The Scream, a transcendent image well known by the general public. The Scream has come to signify anxiety; something we all can relate to. But leave it to Warhol to turn the image into something that’s joyous, thanks to each print’s fantastic color combinations. Since each impression of The Scream (After Munch) is unique, the buyer enjoys the added bonus of buying a one-of-a-kind Andy Warhol.

This ties into the Warhol Sunset series, which are also unique. This print’s growing visibility can partially be traced to its appearance on the cover of the exhibition catalogue, Andy Warhol Prints from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his Family Foundation – at the Portland Museum of Art (in Oregon). Mr. Schnitzer is one of the world’s largest collectors of Warhol prints. Given his collection’s high-profile, and the fact that he owns at least five Sunsets, this graphic’s visibility and demand should continue.

One of the more interesting trends in the Andy Warhol print market is the Mick Jagger portfolio’s rise in desirability. When it was first published, the ten prints were met with a relatively tepid response. At the time (1975), they came off as a blatant attempt to cash in on the Rolling Stones popularity. Many fans think the Stones peaked right around then, at the end of the Mick Taylor years (1969-1974). As the Rolling Stone Album Guide once stated, “these were the Stones of legend.”

Warhol, whose timing always seemed to be spot on, actually approached Jagger to do his portrait. This is a crucial consideration because Andy created the Jaggers as part of his ongoing oeuvre – not for commercial reasons. Initially, Warhol painted a small group of 40” x 40” inch canvases of the Stones’s leader. These portraits were followed by the series of Mick Jagger prints. Painting Jagger’s portrait made sense given Warhol’s obsession with celebrities. But typical of Warhol, business was never far behind. He was commissioned by Mick to do the cover art for the album Sticky Fingers – generally considered to be one of the greatest record album cover designs of all time. Later, Warhol would design another Stones album cover, Love You Live.

Even though Andy and Mick were good friends, their relationship was largely transactional. When Mick was in town Andy would pressure him to come over for one of his famous Balducci’s-catered lunches – where Andy would invite wealthy clients that he was hoping to convince to commission a portrait from him. But Mick was wary of being used and usually refused to attend these lunches. Still, Mick’s business savvy understood the hip quotient of being seen with Warhol at Studio 54 and various social events in New York.

I’m not aware of whose idea it was to have both participants sign each print, but it turned out to be a brilliant ploy. Owning a work with both Jagger’s and Warhol’s signature appealed to art collectors and rock memorabilia collectors. Today, literally 50 years later, it’s hard to say who’s more venerated; Warhol or Jagger. These prints represent a unique time capsule in popular culture. Their historic importance and striking visual qualities assure their continued collectability into the future.

Late in Warhol’s career, he created a pair of iconic prints steeped in American mythology, Superman and Mickey Mouse. When these two prints were released in 1981, as part of the ten-print Myths portfolio, they were always the first ones to sell whenever a set was broken up. Back in 1982, Modernism gallery in San Francisco mounted the city’s first Andy Warhol exhibition. The show was an exclusive presentation of the Myths portfolio accompanied by a selection of canvases from the series. My memory of the show remains crystal clear because a wacky artist friend of mine (who shall remain nameless), somehow managed to come up with $5,000 to buy the Mickey Mouse – the most expensive print in the show (I don’t remember how much Superman cost). Alas, not long after she unloaded the print for $7,500. Today, a Mickey Mouse sells for $200,000-$250,000.

When it comes to acquiring the upper range Andy Warhol prints, be prepared for plenty of competition. While $250,000 is a lot of money, it’s a relatively small amount if you want to collect Andy Warhol paintings. There are a lot more art collectors who can spend a quarter-of-a-million dollars, than those who can spend $1-$1.5 million for a 12” x 10” baby Mao painting. With that in mind, the upper range Andy Warhol prints have plenty of room to run.