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Lot Essay
“Warhol's interest in people – to which his lifelong pursuit of portraiture attests – was not a search for inner truths, but an endless fascination with the theatre of living.” N. Baume
As Warhol progressed in his experimentation and play, he left behind the faded newsprint portraits of his earlier years, turning to that, "imaginary light that makes everyone look good." (Carter Ratcliffe in Exh. Cat., New York, Tony Shafrazi Gallery, Andy Warhol Portraits, 2005, p. 20); a celebration of all the artifices of invention, re-invention and make-believe. With his ice cold piercing glaze and vibrant tie, on an elegant dark petrol background, Jerry Moss is the perfect representation of Warhol’s intent at the time.
Warhol was very processorial when it came to his commissioned portraits. He would hire a stylist to assist in making his sitter look as glamourous as possible and then would take hundreds different polaroid shots, letting the sitter choose the one they liked best. As said by Nicholas Baume "Warhol's interest in people- to which his lifelong pursuit of portraiture attests- was not a search for inner truths, but an endless fascination with the theatre of living." (exh. cat. Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum, About Face: Andy Warhol Portraits, 1999- 2000, p. 91). A tribute to self-invention, these works were not meant as matter of fact portrayals, but rather as utopian images; images of selves re-imagined with heightened brilliance, attractiveness and glamour.
As Warhol progressed in his experimentation and play, he left behind the faded newsprint portraits of his earlier years, turning to that, "imaginary light that makes everyone look good." (Carter Ratcliffe in Exh. Cat., New York, Tony Shafrazi Gallery, Andy Warhol Portraits, 2005, p. 20); a celebration of all the artifices of invention, re-invention and make-believe. With his ice cold piercing glaze and vibrant tie, on an elegant dark petrol background, Jerry Moss is the perfect representation of Warhol’s intent at the time.
Warhol was very processorial when it came to his commissioned portraits. He would hire a stylist to assist in making his sitter look as glamourous as possible and then would take hundreds different polaroid shots, letting the sitter choose the one they liked best. As said by Nicholas Baume "Warhol's interest in people- to which his lifelong pursuit of portraiture attests- was not a search for inner truths, but an endless fascination with the theatre of living." (exh. cat. Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum, About Face: Andy Warhol Portraits, 1999- 2000, p. 91). A tribute to self-invention, these works were not meant as matter of fact portrayals, but rather as utopian images; images of selves re-imagined with heightened brilliance, attractiveness and glamour.