Provenance
The ten images which comprise this collection are unmistakably the work of Andy Warhol, and their provenance and authenticity are uniquely established by their having been made before the eyes of invited audiences and members of the press and media, and strengthened by their inclusion in both Andy Warhol's Diaries and Debbie Harry's memoir, Face It. Below, contemporaneous video footage from July 23, 1985 offers greater support, showing Warhol making two versions of his portrait of Debbie Harry: one at the morning technical run-through for the press, and another at the evening launch event; an account from Amiga World magazine; and a selection of slides shot by Edward Judice at Warhol's studio which accompanied the Amiga World feature and provided the magazine's cover image.
Kenneth Mitchell, who is representing this collection at market, has obtained further authentication from leading digital art historian Noah Bolanowski. Following thorough review, Bolanowski stated:
DIGITAL ART HISTORIAN
NOAH BOLANOWSKI
“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.”
View excerpts from Commodore's official promo video of the Amiga 1000 launch event at New York City's Lincoln Center on July 23, 1985, depicting Andy Warhol making a portrait of Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry. This video, created as a marketing tool, has led to confusion concerning the creation of the famous image.
AMIGA LAUNCH
Eschewing a trade show reveal of its personal computing juggernaut, Commodore chose to introduce the Amiga with a gala in Manhattan. This video shows contemporaneous ABC News coverage from the day of the Amiga 1000 launch, which highlights Warhol's participation in the event and positions the machine as competition for Apple.
ABC NEWS
This footage, captured at a technical run-through for the press on the morning of July 23, 1985 paints the true story of the creation of Andy Warhol's most famous digital artwork, the portrait of Debbie Harry. In it, Warhol and Amiga art director Jack Haeger demonstrate the PC's capabilities and explain the process of making art in this new medium.
THE TRUE STORY
Magazine
Amiga World
Eight of the images in this unique collection were made over the course of a day-long interview and presentation at Warhol's factory for the cover story of the January/February 1986 issue of Amiga World magazine. In addition to being memorialized in print, photographer Edward Judice captured more than 150 images of the artist working on his Amiga 1000 alongside Commodore engineer Jeff Bruette.
Edward Judice
Archival Images
Further establishing the provenance of the artworks in this collection is an archive of more than 150 contemporaneous slide images taken by photographer Edward Judice at Andy Warhol's factory on 33rd Street in Manhattan. The images, captured for the January 1986 cover of Amiga World magazine and the accompanying story, show Commodore engineer Jeff Bruette working side-by-side with the artist to create the images that comprise this lot.
Acquired by filmmaker Bradford Louryk for use in the Blumhouse/Gidalya Pictures documentary 16 BITS OF FAME, this archive offers indisputable proof of the authenticity of these iconic digital artworks.
Pictured at left, photographer Edward Judice and an interactive selection of his slides.
