In the 1950s he worked as a commercial artist, initially drawing shoes and handbags for fashion designers. In 1956, he received an important commission from Tiffany & Co in Fifth Avenue: he was asked to design Christmas cards for the prestigious company.
Warhol was fascinated by Christmas, which for him was the perfect combination of popular culture, consumerism and kitsch, all of which became integral facets of his later art. His Christmas compositions combined traditional seasonal subjects such as holly and angels but also sometimes mermaids and antique classical statues.
A 22 x 13in (55 x 34cm) gold stamped paper collage on wove paper from c.1957, being sold by Ketterer in Munich on December 11 with an estimate of €50,000-70,000, can be seen in this context.
While it cannot be connected to a specific Christmas card for Tiffany, there is no doubt about its authorship. It bears the estate stamp and that of the Andy Warhol Foundation. The artist created his cards for Tiffany until 1962 – the year he began working on his iconic Campbell soup cans.
