Posted on 07/28/2017 10:23:27 AM PDT by nickcarraway
"Little Electric Chair" print was "rolled up in a tube," could be worth millions
Alice Cooper discovered an Andy Warhol silkscreen print that could be worth millions of dollars "rolled up in a tube" in a storage locker, The Guardian reports. The "Little Electric Chair" print was part of Warhol's Death and Disaster series and, coincidentally, had been laying around a facility for over 40 years alongside Cooper's Seventies-era electric chair stage prop.
Cooper and Warhol became friends in the early Seventies after the rocker moved to New York City. Warhol even came to one of Cooper's concerts where he used the electric chair to fake an execution. As Cooper's longtime manager Shep Gordon explained, "Andy was kind of a groupie, and so was Alice. They loved famous people. So they started a relationship, and they loved to hang out."
However, it was Cooper's girlfriend at the time, model Cindy Lang, who purchased the "Little Electric Chair" print from Warhol. Warhol based his print (dated either 1964 or 1965) on a 1953 press photo of the death chamber at Sing Sing prison where Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed that year for sharing secrets with the Soviet Union.
Lang apparently handed the print off to Gordon, but it quickly got lost amongst Cooper's vast assortment of gear. "At the time Alice is making two albums a year and touring the rest of the time," Gordon said. "It was a rock & roll time; none of us thought about anything. He ends up going into an insane asylum for his drinking and then leaves New York for L.A. Alice says he remembers having a conversation with Warhol about the picture. He thinks the conversation was real, but he couldn't put his hand on a Bible and say that it was."
Gordon only remembered Cooper had the piece four years ago after having dinner with an art dealer. While it was unclear where the print was, Gordon noted that, luckily, Cooper's mother remembered seeing it go into storage.
View image on Twitter View image on Twitter Follow Walker Reader @walkermag 40 years later, Alice Cooper's Warhol electric chair screenprint found "rolled up in a tube": http://wac.mn/2uu6FY8 3:02 PM - Jul 24, 2017 29 29 Retweets 33 33 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy While Cooper's "Little Electric Chair" is unsigned, Warhol expert Richard Polsky said he is certain the piece is authentic (the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts stopped authenticating work in 2011 after a dispute with a collector). In 1972, Lang paid $2,500 for the piece. In 2015, another "Little Electric Chair" print sold at auction for $11.6 million.
Gordon said that after Cooper learned of the Warhol's potential value, he declined to hang something so expensive in his house, though apparently the rocker is now reconsidering. "You should have seen Alice’s face when Richard Polsky's estimate came in," Gordon said. "His jaw dropped and he looked at me. 'Are you serious? I own that!'"
I’ve seen the classic Muppet Show with Alice Cooper and believe it or not that’s what finally made me see him as something other than a makeup-wearing 70’s shock rock artifact, finally gained some appreciation for his music above and beyond what had gotten airplay on the radio. There were a number of musicians and bands who had very memorable appearances on that show. It’s an underappreciated venue for musical performances, much much more than just a children’s show.
Thanks for the report. I’m glad he’s doing well. He seems to be a good guy these days.
“However, it was Cooper’s girlfriend at the time, model Cindy Lang, who purchased the “Little Electric Chair” print from Warhol.”
It would seem to belong to her then.
“Cindy Lang died in January.”
Convenient that they “found” it now.
Yes, very convenient.
"That's my recollection but everything from those days is really foggy. As I (later) found out -- things that I thought were real were not real."
He actually had a pretty good singign voice- Here’s a muppet clip with him-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wea5MG7h2V0
11 million for Warhol garbage. Sad.
Alice does not need the money.
Contrary to popular thought, his biggest fortune comes from real estate investments.
*If* he ever sells this, the money will undoubtedly go to his Christian based charity, the Solid Rock Foundation.
You can Google traffic camera shots of him behind the wheel of muscle cars, as he gets a speeding ticket.
:)
The eyes are the windows of the soul...
This just came out today...
http://www.classichitsandoldies.com/v2/83534/
[and it’s in my hot little hand, already]
;D
Absolutely.
I was at the Louvre and a guy was selling the original wallet size Mona Lisa. Some art gallery, it didn’t even have the original Elvis On Black Velvet.
No doubt. Saw him and a Highway Patrol “chatting” next one of his Corvettes on the 10 while I was one of my Phoenix to LA treks. He’s a very naughty boy.
I’m not criticizing Alice. If I found an 11 million example of Warhol garbage in my attic I’d sell it in a heartbeat relying on PT Barnum’s adage
No dogs playing poker either?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.