| Athletes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Andy Warhol |
| Year | 1977 |
| Medium | Acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen |
| Movement | Pop Art |
Athletes is a 1977 series ofsilkscreen portraits by American artistAndy Warhol. Commissioned by art collector Richard Weisman, the series consists of ten silkscreen portraits depicting renowned sports figures of the era. The paintings apply Warhol'sPop Art approach to athletic celebrity, reflecting the growing cultural and commercial prominence of sports. The works are regarded as a significant extension of Warhol's exploration of fame beyond film and popular entertainment.
In 1977, art collector Richard Weisman proposed a project to Pop artist Andy Warhol, suggesting that he create a series ofscreenprints depicting leading sports figures of the time.[1] An avid sports fan, Weisman saw the idea as a way to merge art and athletics, recognizing the growing commercialization of sports and Warhol's fascination with celebrity andpop culture. Recalling the origins of the project in a 2007 interview withThe Art Newspaper, Weisman said, "I spoke to Andy about the idea; I knew he was a groupie and loved to meet famous people."[2]
Warhol, whose paintings of screen legends such asMarilyn Monroe andElizabeth Taylor, captured them as symbols of America, saw athletes as the "new movie stars."[3] Reflecting on shifting forms of celebrity, he remarked, "The kids today, instead of going into the movies, go into sports, the really good-looking ones."[4] Warhol added, "That's the reason there are a lot of movie stars who aren't really that good-looking. In sports, they have a better chance, and then if they're really good, they go into the movies afterwards."[4]
Except for a commissioned portrait of tennis playerVitas Gerulaitis, Warhol had not previously used athletes as subjects.[3] Reflecting on this, he remarked, "I didn't know how to meet one." Apart fromPelé andO. J. Simpson—whom Warhol encountered atRegine's—he had not met any of the athletes prior to their Polaroid portrait sessions.[3] Weisman chose the subjects for the series, and between March and November 1977, Warhol traveled across the United States to takePolaroid photographs of each sports star.[1] At his studio,the Factory, he transferred his chosen frames to canvas and applied the color using his silkscreening technique.[5]
TheAthletes series consists of ten portraits, each measuring 40 × 40 inches, commissioned by Richard Weisman for $800,000.[2] Warhol produced eight complete sets of the series, and Weisman retained one set. Of the remaining seven sets, three were distributed to his children, two were donated to theUniversity of Maryland and theUniversity of California, Los Angeles, one set was divided among the athletes depicted, and another was split among the governing associations for each sport.[2]
Warhol made nine individual paintings as "extras," which led to a dispute after his death between his estate, theAndy Warhol Foundation, and Weisman.[2] Weisman had a contract stating that he was the owner of all of theAthletes paintings. "In the end we settled, they gave me all of theAthletes paintings they had and I donated half of them back to the foundation on the understanding that they were not to be sold on the open market without my permission," he said.[2]
Richard Weisman chose the 10 athletes for the series:
Three additional people were initially considered for the series but ultimately excluded: stunt performerEvel Knievel, due to debate over whether he qualified as an athlete; basketball playerJulius Erving, because of contractual complications; and gymnastNadia Comăneci, owing to difficulties in contacting theRomanian Athletics Federation.[6]
Athletes was first exhibited at Coe Kerr Gallery in New York from December 1977 to January 1978.[6][7] It was then shown at theVirginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond from January to February 1978.[8] The exhibition next traveled to the University Gallery atSouthern Methodist University in Dallas, where it was on view from February to March 1978.[9] It subsequently appeared at the Texas Gallery in Houston in April 1978, before being presented at theInstitute of Contemporary Arts in London from June to July 1978.[10][11]
In 2008, the series was shown at the Faurschou gallery in Beijing to coincide with the2008 Summer Olympics.[12]
When the exhibition opened at the Coe Kerr Gallery in 1977, the portraits were offered for sale at $25,000 each.[6]
In 2007, Weisman offered his set of Athletes in London throughart dealer Martin Summers for a reported $28 million, but it did not sell.[12] The set sold for $5.7 million atChristie's evening contemporary art sale in New York in May 2011.[13] A portrait of Muhammad Ali from the series, consigned to auction by Weisman's ex-wife, sold at Christie's New York for $9.2 million in 2007.[12]
In November 2019, a set was offered as individual lots at Christie's in New York sold for a combined $15 million, led by a portrait of Muhammad Ali purchased by the Lévy Gorvy Gallery for $10 million.[14]
In February 2020, a separate set from theAthletes series was sold at Christie's in London.[1] The portrait of Muhammad Ali was the most sought after, selling to an American telephone bidder for £4.97 million ($6.4 million) after competition with Lévy Gorvy.[14] Art adviserJude Hess acquired the portrait of Brazilian footballer Pelé for £575,250 ($744,374).[14] With the exception of the portrait of Jack Nicklaus, the works generally achieved lower prices than their New York counterparts a few months prior.[14]
