Warhol Portrait of Mao Up For Auction
Mao was groovier than people gave him credit for. Don’t think that Mao didn’t get a Warhol made. Andy Warhol’s portrait of Chinese leader Mao Zedong is set to be auctioned off in New York City by Christie’s auction house. The portrait, made in 1972, is currently owned by the Swiss Daros Collection and is expected to go for between $8 and $12 million. And soon, some lucky rich guy is going to have the most psychedelic picture of Mao on his wall. According to the China Daily, the “Mao” portrait was Warhol’s first political portrait and a departure from Warhol’s use of American subjects. Warhol said himself that he recognized the Western fascination with Mao and thus, saw a need to portray him. The image was taken from the cover of the book “Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung and silk-screened. What’s so funny about this portrait is that in China, you only ever see one portrayal of Mao (the right side of the image above). And Warhol’s portrait is as different from the conventional depiction of Mao as can be short of the Chairman lying naked on a sofa watching Sportscenter. Everything in the portrait, including Mao’s earmuff hairstyle, is just a bit crazier– the dark blue jacket, the bright blue background and there’s even a hint of a smile on the big guy’s face. If I had a spare 10 mil, I’d want this thing on my wall.
•China Daily: Mao Portrait Up For Auction