Gallery proposal
Marilyn "This is not by me" SBM - FS II30
andy warholColors screenprint on paper
The work is signed with a black pen on the back, with the artist's hologram writing (this is not by me). Paper stamped on the back: Pubblished by Sunday B. Morning.
Aside the edition of 250, 26 AP, Unauthorized edition Signed by Andy Warhol in felt black magic
marker on verso. “ This is not by me” Andy Warhol
Literature:
Freyda Feldman, Jörg Schellmann, Claudia Defendi, Andy Warhol Prints, A Catalogue Raisonné 1962–
1987, New York 2015, II.22–31, p. 213
After the tragic death of Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol began his Marilyn Series in 1967. This became one
of the actress’s most iconic and memorable depictions and one of Warhol’s most popular prints. He created
a portfolio of 10 different sheets, all featuring the same image of Marilyn in different colour variations. The
portfolio of the 1967 series had a print run of 250 pieces, measuring 91.4 x 91.4 cm.
“There are unauthorized prints, 33 1/4 x 33 ¼ (84.5 x 84.5 cm),
which were published in 1970 in different colours from the portfolio. Stamped in black verso, ‘published by
Sunday B. Morning’ and ‘fill in your own signature’, some prints are inscribed by Warhol: ‘this is not by me
Andy Warhol’.” (Feldmann/ Schellmann, p. 213)
Provenance:
Private collection Florence.
Work in perfect condition, visible in the Gallery.
histry : Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe is indisputably among his most iconic subjects and
recognized worldwide.
Warhol created these works starting from a photo taken in 1953 of the diva by photographer Gene
Korman during the filming of the movie Niagara and began reproducing this image in 1962,
shortly after the actress disappeared.
Marilyn's serigraphs, in bright and unnatural colors, immediately became a cult object.
Collectors vied for one and this appreciation did not diminish over time,
quite the opposite.
Even today, after more than 50 years, the face of Marilyn Monroe revisited by Andy Warhol is a
of the most famous images in the history of art throughout the twentieth century.
Warhol painted at least fifty canvases depicting Marilyn Monroe. All unique pieces
and all with current market valuations of tens of millions of dollars.
In addition to the canvases, in 1967 Warhol decided to publish a folder containing 10 serigraphs of
Marilyn, each with different colors but all based on the same background image.
The success was so immediate that within a few months all the cards (up to 250
specimens) ended.
In the 1970s, upon pressing request from the European market, Warhol decided to
publish a second series of Marilyn and made arrangements with a Belgian printing house for them to be
250 more copies of the 1967 folder printed.
During the printing phase, however, for reasons that are not entirely clear, Warhol broke off relations
with the printing house and asked to suspend the production of the further 250 folders.
But the printers ignored Warhol's request and continued to print,
placing on the market what were then defined by the artist "non reproductions
authorized ".
When Warhol or his staff came across one of these unauthorized Marilyns, the
serigraphs were destroyed and sent to pulp.
Every now and then, however, instead of destroying the serigraphs, Warhol signed them, adding the phrase
"This is not by me" ("I didn't do this"), effectively re-authenticating the works themselves.
Today even the “This is not by me” series is highly sought after and collected as it is based on
images from the official series and was recently included by the Warhol Foundation in
General Catalog of the artist's work.
Work accompanied by Andy Warhol Specialist expertise (https://andywarholspecialist.com/andy-warhol).