Cats Named Sam IV 62
Cats Named Sam IV 62
Unsigned Print
Andy Warhol
Price data unavailable
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
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Medium: Lithograph
Edition size: 190
Year: 1954
Size: H 22cm x W 15cm
Signed: No
Format: Unsigned Print
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2011 | Ketterer Kunst Hamburg | Germany | |||
| October 2009 | Christie's New York | United States | |||
| December 2007 | Christie's London | United Kingdom | |||
| April 2005 | Bonhams San Francisco | United States |
Meaning & Analysis
Printed in 1954, Cats Named Sam IV 62 is an offset lithograph by Andy Warhol that depicts two cats in light pastel pink rendered against a plain backdrop. While most the prints in the Cats Named Sam series feature only one cat, this print renders a larger cat cradling a little kitten. Black gestural lines delineate the two cats against each other and accentuate their fur and whiskers.
The Cats Named Sam series was produced by Warhol in 1954 to accompany a children’s book he wrote, 25 Cats Name (sic) Sam and One Blue Pussy. Despite what the title indicates, Warhol produced 16 and not 25 prints alongside the book, each of which has a unique colour composition and was hand coloured by Warhol or one of his friends. The inspiration for this series came from Warhol’s home life. The artist’s mother, Julia, came to live with him in New York in 1952 and while sharing an apartment with Warhol, Julia had 25 pet cats.
The influence of Warhol’s early career as a freelance children’s book illustrator is evident in this series, which marks the beginning of his trajectory to becoming a famous Pop artist. The print also features Warhol’s signature blotted line technique which came to mark much of his earlier work from the 1940s and 1950s, notably the commercial illustrations he produced for fashion magazines.
Andy Warhol was a leading figure of the Pop Art movement and is often considered the father of Pop Art. Born in 1928, Warhol allowed cultural references of the 20th century to drive his work. From the depiction of glamorous public figures, such as Marilyn Monroe, to the everyday Campbell’s Soup Can, the artist challenged what was considered art by blurring the boundaries between high art and mass consumerism. Warhol's preferred screen printing technique further reiterated his obsession with mass culture, enabling art to be seen as somewhat of a commodity through the reproduced images in multiple colour ways.
