'Warholabilia' up for auction in New York

NEW YORK - Don't have US$10 million for an Andy Warhol Campbell's soup can painting? A mere US$1,000 could buy the late artist's paintbrush or paint-splattered shoes when an array of his possessions hit the auction block next month.

The items, included in a sale of celebrity memorabilia announced by Christie's, were culled from gifts that Warhol bestowed on Jeffrey Warhola and his other nephews when they visited their famous uncle from the late 1960s until his death in 1987.

Pre-sale estimates are as low as US$600 for the belongings of the Pop Art icon, whose subjects included Marilyn Monroe, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the famed red-and-white soup can.

The market for Warhols has been especially hot in recent years, with his art works regularly selling for several million dollars.

The auction, set for June 22 in New York, features his clothing, roller skates, cowboy boots, sunglasses and neckties.

One of the artist's trademark silver wigs is estimated by the auction house to sell in a range of US$4,000 to US$6,000. Other items include paint-splattered shoes and blue jeans.

Also up for sale are Polaroid print portraits that Warhol took of many of his friends including author Truman Capote, musician Mick Jagger, actor Sylvester Stallone, entertainer Liza Minnelli and boxer Muhammad Ali. The photo of Ali is signed by the champion and the auction house estimates it could go for US$6,000 to US$9,000.

Prices at memorabilia auctions can skyrocket. Items belonging to Kennedy Onassis sold for as much as hundreds of times their estimated pre-sale value, as have those belonging to Marilyn Monroe.

Additional items at the auction include scores of possessions from actor Clark Gable's estate, including his Rolex watch, a monogrammed cigarette case and a copy of "Gone With the Wind" inscribed to Gable by the film's producer, David O. Selznick.

Monroe's address book from the early 1960s will also be auctioned off, along with the screen siren's heavily annotated script from the musical "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," each estimated to go for US$10,000 to US$15,000.

Items associated with Marlon Brando, Marlene Dietrich and Judy Garland will be up for sale as well.

- REUTERS