Andy Warhol's 'Endangered Species' Prints

Andy Warhol’s complete set of ten screenprints of Endangered Species will take the spotlight at Sotheby’s London in an auction of Old Master, Modern and Contemporary Prints on 19 March 2013. Estimated to bring £250,000-300,000, the Endangered Species project was the result of a conversation between Warhol and Frayda and Ronald Feldman, his New York art dealers, concerning the ecological issue of beach erosion. With his interest and curiosity in animals, he was keen to take on this project, proposed by the Feldmans. The vibrantly coloured screenprints, produced in 1983, were described as ‘animals in make-up’ by Warhol. They are all portrayed majestically yet betray a poignant resignation to their fate. Placed in isolation as individual prints, they are positioned on the same level of elevation as the artist’s illustrious screenprints of 20th-century luminaries, such as Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor and Muhammad Ali. Complete sets of Warhol prints are very rare to the market.

The Modern prints are spearheaded by a very rare woodcut by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (Kühe im Frühling, est. £80,000-120,000) and a collection of works by Edvard Munch, including Two Human Beings. The Lonely Ones (est. £250,000-350,000). The Old Master section features exceptional works by Dürer and Rembrandt. Dürer’s Saint Jerome in his Study (est. £70,000-90,000) and Knight, Death and the Devil (est. £30,000-60,000) are widely acknowledged as the ‘master engravings’ which represent the pinnacle of the artist’s achievement in the medium. Rembrandt is represented with a group of the most important subjects among his graphic works, led by The Three Crosses (est. £200,000-300,000). 

Alongside the present auction, Sotheby's London will offer Important Ceramics by Pablo Picasso from A Private Collection, Including Modern and Contemporary Prints on 19 March. The undisputed star of the collection is Warhol's Flowers, the complete set of ten colour screenprints from 1970. Dazzling in their various colour combinations, the group is estimated to bring £220,000-300,000.