This work is one of only 200 that have been signed and numbered by Andy Warhol, this being number 2/200 - only the second edition in the entire run - making it one of the earliest and brightest impressions of this iconic, historic work. (Separately, there was a more common edition of 500). What distinguishes the rare, signed edition of 200, other than that it is signed and numbered on the verso, is that it is on opaque acrylic paper; the regular edition is on wove paper. Also, the black graphic text "FIFTH NEW YORK" is placed directly over the text "Film Festival of Lincoln Center" in the edition of 200; whereas in the edition of 500, the text black text "FIFTH NEW YORK" is placed on top of the white text. This work is elegantly framed in a wood frame with UV Museum plexiglass, and it has a die-cut back to reveal Warhol's incised signature on this incredibly rare print. This work is quintessential early Warhol, with characteristic bright neon colors, featuring text, along with the artist's very recognizable flower motif. The Lincoln Center ticket simultaneously reflects Warhol's central preoccupations with commercial culture (the ticket is, par excellence, an object that is bought and sold), as well as his fascination with Hollywood - as the ticket, quite literally, represents an entree into the world of film. Warhol's appropriation of the flower - an otherwise sentimental and decorative motif, transforming it into a symbol of the Pop Art movement, is a hallmark of his early style and innovations. Andy Warhol's vibrant vintage color silkscreen "Lincoln Center Ticket" from the fabulous Sixties is considered one of the more iconic and recognizable Warhol images. It is also one of Warhol's earliest prints. The Vera List Art Project, which commissioned this design, was established in 1962 by philanthropists Vera and Albert List as a way to both support the visual arts and raise funds for Lincoln Center. Artists like Andy Warhol, Will Barnett, Chuck Close, Jim Dine, Helen Frankenthaler, George Condo, Richard Serra, Larry Rivers, Robert Longo, Helen Frankenthaler, Sol LeWitt, and dozens of others others have contributed their unique designs to this program over the decades. During the '60s, Warhol was making numerous films. He was also a big fan of Hollywood, as evidenced by his preoccupation with movie stars like Liz Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. The giant movie ticket of "Lincoln Center Ticket" is also Warhol's homage to fellow Pop provocateur, Claes Oldenburg, famous for appropriating everyday objects and re-imagining them on the grand scale - as Warhol was acutely aware of the works of his contemporaries. Warhol's Lincoln Center ticket has been featured in numerous exhibitions and surveys of prints and multiples of the Sixties....and in recent years, it was even featured in a segment for "Antique's Roadshow."
Publisher: Leo Castelli, New York
Printer: Chiron Press, New York
Catalogue Raisonne: Feldman & Schellman, II.19
Literature: Images of an Era 72 and cover, Modern Poster 255, Modern American Poster 132, Muller-Brockmann 121, Plakat Kunst p. 173, The Poster p. 358, Interationale Plakate 704, Kunstler Plakate p. 107, MoMA 493.1978.