A previously unseen Andy Warhol piece believed to be worth up to €600,000 is set to go under the hammer in Paris.
An art collection of nearly 300 pieces belonging to a late friend of Andy Warhol’s is to go under the hammer at the Artcurial auction house in Paris and will include a previously unseen work by the pop art legend.
The art collection belonging to late American collector and gallery owner Robert William Burke, who died in 2020, is set to go up for auction on October 25, the Parisian auction house Artcurial said in a statement on Tuesday, August 30.
Artcurial said: “On October 25, Artcurial will be selling the unique collection of Robert William Burke (1948-2020), an American collector and gallery owner who was closely associated with Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly and Gilbert & George.
“His friendships and his taste for art gave rise to a collection of close to 300 works spanning several centuries of art history.”
Artcurial said that the works of art are from Burke’s apartment in Paris. They added: “An American by birth, he chose to settle in Paris where he meticulously preserved the collection he had painstakingly accumulated over the course of his career and through his artistic friendships.”
The Parisian auction house said that the collection includes contemporary art, photography, prints and books by Andy Warhol, Gilbert & George, Cy Twombly, Sol Lewitt, Robert Rauschenberg, Bruce Nauman, Sarkis, Christopher Makos, Michel Comte, David Seidner, Robert Demachy, Cecil Beaton, and Horst P. Horst. as well as “primitive arts, archaeology and Oriental arts, old paintings and Asian art.”
The Warhol piece is a “previously unseen silkscreen ink on canvas” called ‘Warren’ (1962) and has been estimated to be worth between €400,000 and €600,000. The auction house also said that two other pieces by Andy Warhol will be up for auction. One is called ‘This Side Up’ (1962) and has been valued at between €200,000 and €400,000.
The third piece is called ‘VIP Tickets – Studio 54’ (1978) and has been estimated at between €80,000 and €120,000.
The auction house said: “All three works are signed gifts from Warhol to his friend, Robert William Burke. Also offered for auction is a rare example of a parchment-covered wooden column floor lamp by Jacques Adnet, formerly located in Warhol’s Paris flat, estimated at €40,000 to €60,000.”
Stephane Aubert, the Auctioneer and Associate Director at Artcurial, said: “This unique collection reflects the history of Robert William Burke’s close friendships with some of the greatest artists of the 1960s and 1970s: Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg, Gilbert & Georges…”
