Singer Alice Cooper rediscovers precious forgotten Andy Warhol silkscreen print

Celebrated U.S. singer Alice Cooper (real name Vincent Damon Furnier, Detroit, 1948) found in a warehouse a silkscreen print by Andy Warhol (Pittsburgh, 1928 - New York, 1987) that he had simply forgotten about, as reported by the online magazine Artnet News. It is a silkscreen print belonging to the Electric Chairs series, purchased in 1974 by Alice Cooper’s then-girlfriend Cindy Langa, who evidently thought it suitable for the musician’s collection since, at the time, he was also accustomed to using reproductions of electric chairs in his sets during his shows. At the time, the work was purchased for $2,500, but today, according to valuations of similar items that have passed through auction recently, the value of the print could be around ten million dollars.

Alice Cooper’s manager, Shep Gordon, interviewed by Artnet News, said that Cindy Langa “gave it to Alice for her birthday,” but the singer, once he received the silkscreen, put it in a tube because he was busy touring and entrusted it to a Los Angeles warehouse that specializes in storing items that require controlled temperatures: however, he later forgot about it. The silkscreen is neither signed nor authenticated, but critics believe it is an original nonetheless. Richard Polsky, a dealer and expert on Andy Warhol, has, however, stated that “Alice and Andy, in the 1970s, were good friends” (as also confirmed by Gordon), and it is therefore highly likely that the work belongs to the original series: Polsky has dated it to the years 1964-1965 and plans to include it in his own catalog raisonné of Andy Warhol’s works (although this is not a publication authorized by the Warhol Foundation).

The fate of the work (which Alice Cooper now allegedly already has ... hanging in her home, as her manager states) is not yet known, but, according to Gordon’s statements, it is likely that the silkscreen will be put on the market, although the fact that the silkscreen is, as anticipated, neither signed nor authenticated, may play against this hypothesis. In the event that authentication cannot be obtained, the value would be drastically reduced.

Image: left, Alice Cooper(credit), right, Andy Warhol(credit)

Sources: Artnet News - Los Angeles Times

Singer Alice Cooper rediscovers precious forgotten Andy Warhol silkscreen print

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