Andy Warhol’s Final Commissioned Art, Left Unfinished, To Go On Display
In 1986, Andy Warhol was commissioned by Mercedes-Benz to create a commemorative project for its 100th anniversary. The pop artist got to work, with the vision to produce 80 artworks of 20 different car models to illustrate the automaker’s storied heritage.
The following February, Warhol was scheduled for a routine gallbladder surgery, which led to his untimely death. Only 49 of the 80 promised pieces were created then—36 canvas screen prints and 13 drawings.
The unfinished project, entitled Andy Warhol: Cars – Works from the Mercedes-Benz Art Collection, is set to go on show at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles from July 23.
This will be the first time in over a decade that the commission will greet the public, and will mark its first viewing in North America in 30 years.
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The project will be showcased at the museum’s Armand Hammer Foundation Gallery, alongside five of the eight models from Warhol’s unfinished work.
Parked at a nearby gallery is Warhol’s personal 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. The artist never learned to drive, so he’d depend on his friends—including Mick Jagger, Imelda Marcos, and Liza Minnelli—to take the wheel while he sat in the passenger seat.
[via Carscoops and Stuff.co.nz, images via various sources]
