Warhol’s demonstration is recounted on page 196 of Debbie Harry’s memoir, Face It, in which she writes: “It was a pretty amazing event… I hammed it up some… asking in a suggestive Marilyn voice, ‘Are you ready to paint me?’” The starting image capture that evening was flat and lacked contrast, resulting in an unsatisfactory portrait in comparison to the version Warhol had produced earlier.
Warhol himself recounted on page 664 in his Diaries, “…the drawing came out terrible… it was a real mess.”
Warhol allowed Commodore to produce just three printed copies (along with an A/P print) of the Debbie Harry portrait. One of these physical prints was also gifted to Bruette, whose collection was acquired by its present owners in 2014.
Following the Lincoln Center event, Warhol continued to collaborate with his instructor, working together on Warhol’s MTV show and in preparation for the Amiga World magazine interview. During this time, Bruette acquired nine additional digital works from the artist, including several Warhol self-portraits, a portrait of music icon Dolly Parton, and a digital take on the Absolut bottle. These, along with the Warhol hand-signed diskette, and the digital file, and the physical print of the Debbie Harry portrait, comprise this newly-surfaced collection.
Noah Bolanowski, digital art historian and Manager of Collector Relations for expanded.art in Berlin, has assessed the collection’s authenticity.
Following a thorough review, Bolanowski summarized his evaluation, saying, “My investigation underscores a strong chain of provenance including historical documentation, third-party accounts, video recordings, and dozens of candid photographs, leading me to assert the legitimacy of this collection, positioning these works as authentic contributions to both the artist’s legacy and the history of digital art.”
The full account of Andy Warhol’s exploration of computer art has led Drama Desk Award winner Bradford Louryk to begin production on 16 BITS OF FAME, a documentary chronicling the problematic history of these and other of the artist’s unusual digital works. This film, currently in production by Blumhouse (HBO’s “The Jinx”; Academy Award winners for Get Out and BlacKkKlansman) and Gidalya Pictures (How to Dance in Ohio), features a collection of over 150 candid photos featuring Warhol and Bruette (captured by Edward Judice in 1985 and recently acquired by Louryk), which provide additional provenance to the artworks in this collection.
The trust has retained independent art dealer Kenneth Mitchell, who brings a wealth of knowledge and over 40 years of experience in the field of fine art (Findlay in Chicago, New York, and Paris; Dr. Armand Hammer’s Knoedler Galleries in New York; and Private View Galleries in Palm Beach) to his handling of the private sale of this unique collection. Contextualized by the fascinating, newly-revealed details of Warhol’s exploration of this medium, the collection fundamentally rewrites Art History and is a testimony to the iconoclastic artist’s status as a true visionary.
It is that saved version of the portrait which was edited into Commodore’s promotional video, leading the world to believe that the legendary image had been created at the live event.
The current owner, a family trust, acquired this collection in 2014 and has put it up for private sale starting at $26 million. It contains ten (10) digital image files on diskette created by Andy Warhol, including his iconic portrait of Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry; eight (8) images created by Warhol during an interview for an Amiga World magazine cover story; and an experimental image made during the production of “Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes,” the artist’s MTV show. All files are in Amiga file format and original resolution. In addition, this collection includes a framed assemblage displaying a limited print of Warhol’s Debbie Harry portrait, along with the original diskette, hand-signed in black Sharpie by Andy Warhol.
The digital works were produced when Warhol was enlisted by PC powerhouse Commodore to create a digital portrait live in front of an audience of thousands for the launch of its supercharged Amiga 1000 computer. This spectacular event took place at Lincoln Center on July 23rd, 1985. In the weeks leading up to the event, Commodore sent Jeff Bruette, one of their in-house engineers, to teach the artist how to produce recognizably “Andy Warhol” artworks using the Amiga. This powerful new medium captivated Warhol’s imagination, allowing him to push the boundaries of his catalogue as the first major fine artist to work in the digital space, and it represents the flashpoint in computer art technology.
Warhol asked Debbie Harry to be his model for the event. A promotional video prepared by Commodore, which has circulated for years, depicts Warhol creating Harry’s portrait before a riveted audience. However, Bruette, with the support of video evidence, has revealed that this was not the case. Warhol’s now famous digital portrait of the Blondie singer was actually created during a rehearsal run-through for the press on the morning of the launch. Bruette saved the image to diskette for Warhol; Warhol signed the diskette and gifted it back to Bruette.
Offered for sale, a collection of ten iconic “lost” digital works by pop artist Andy Warhol.
It was 10 years ago when The Andy Warhol Museum announced newly-discovered experiments created in 1985 by legendary pop artist Andy Warhol using an Amiga computer. Now, nearly 40 years after their creation, more digital artworks created by Warhol have surfaced. These works—some previously unseen—are accompanied by contemporaneously captured video and photographs of Warhol creating them. What’s more, they retell the story of Warhol’s foray into digital artwork in a way that has never been revealed before.