7

Top 10 Paintings by Inflation-Adjusted Price

From the early sixties, American artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987) quickly emerged as a def ining

f igure of Pop Art. Famous for his depictions of everyday consumer goods and portraits of public

icons, Warhol celebrated mass culture while employing a process that echoed large-scale

manufacturing: photographic silkscreen printing. His repeated images infused with vivid colours

created a strong visual identity that remains immediately recognisable.

After a four-year break, Warhol made a sensational return to painting in 1972 with a series of

portraits of Chinese leader Mao Zedong (1893-1976). This coincided with U.S. President Nixon’s

historic visit to China, which marked the beginning of a diplomatic thaw after decades of tension.

Between 1972 and 1973, Warhol created f ive series of Mao paintings in varying scales—the Early

Maos, the Giant Maos, and thereafter, three subsequent Mao series that increased in number as

they decreased in size. They are all based on the of ficial portrait found in the ‘Little Red Book’, one

of the most widely circulated books of all time. Communist propaganda of fered Warhol an ideal

subject through which to probe the machinery of mass media and the making of celebrity.

Artwork Sales Date Auction Price

Inf lation-

Adjusted Price

(USD)

Mao 1972 2277

1111201547514000 61653995

Mao 1972 2280

16112017 32404500 40472209

Mao 1972 2282

15112006 17376000 26567216

Mao 1973 2297

12052015 14474000 18861924

Mao 1973 2297

15112012 13522500 18060291

Mao 1973 2303

12022014 £7586500 16219307

Mao 1973 2303

02042017 98537500 HKD 16037142

Mao 1973 2300

28062011 £6985250 15675241

Mao 1973 2306

10052012 10386500 14025746

Mao 1973 2328

150520136283750 8369102

I N WA R H O L’S AU C T I O N M A R K E T (2 0 0 4-2 0 2 3)

The Mao

Paintings

3

are from the Early Mao series

Among Warhol’s Top Maos: