Lost Andy Warhol Digital Works Are Being Sold for $26 Million
Jeff Bruette had no idea who Andy Warhol was when his employer, Commodore Computers, asked him to teach the artist how to use the computer graphics software used in the brand's Amiga Computers.
In 1985, Amiga Computers asked Warhol to create a few works for the company's Lincoln Center promotional event in which thousands of people would watch the artist's work live. The original files from the practice sessions leading up to the event, saved on a long-lost diskette, have resurfaced and are now being sold for $26 million in a private sale.
The files include ten digital works, one of which is a portrait of Blondie's frontwoman Debbie Harry. These files will be sold alongside eight images Warhol created for Amiga World Magazine in a cover story. "I've actually had them for a while, but had no idea that there was any interest or value in them," Bruette tells T&C. So, how did he acquire them?
As previously mentioned, Bruette was assigned to teach Warhol how to use the Amiga's software, unaware of the artist's fame. He ended up teaching Warhol a computer 101 class: "I would teach him the functions of the right button and the left button, we would take a break for lunch, and he would forget it all over again," Bruette said.
During their practice sessions, Warhol's entourage would linger around the studio. Then came Debbie Harry. "I still had no idea who Warhol was, but I surely knew who Debbie was," Bruette said. According to him, she came in a sequined dress and became one of the subjects for the project. "In hindsight, it's pretty amazing to see how his original screen printing works and his techniques translated onto the computer. It's a very impressive crossover."
At the end of their practice sessions, Bruette saved the files thinking that Warhol may want them as a sort of memento. He didn't; instead, he told Bruette that he could keep it, signing it and leaving it in the hands of his computer teacher. Interestingly, the work Warhol did for Amiga's promotional work looked different from the practice runs, even writing in his diary: " …the drawing came out terrible… it was a real mess.”
The collection that is being sold has been assessed and authenticated by Noah Bolanowski, digital art historian and Manager of Collector Relations for expanded.art. "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," Bolanowski said in a release.
The works are being sold by the private dealer, Kenneth Mitchell. For more information, please visit digitalandyart.com.
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