Money Hat, a one-of-a-kind artwork by Andy Warhol, created at the height of his artistic prominence in the ’70s, is coming up for auction on November 11, 2014, with an estimated sale price of $800,000-1,200,000.
The sale is being handled by Nye and Company Auctioneers / Appraisers of Bloomfield, N.J., and will be offered online for a period of three weeks, after which desirous parties can place bids prior to the live sale at the auction house in Bloomfield on November 11.
Warhol was prolific across a spectrum of media, but millinery was never one of them. That is, until 1972, when the preeminent Pop artist adorned a straw hat with a band of 10-dollar bills. One of the bills is signed by Warhol, making the consignment of this unique all the more rare and important.
Adding to the significance of this atypical objet d’art is that the headpiece that served as Warhol’s “canvas” was confected by Halston, the iconic fashion designer of the 1970s.
Warhol presented Money Hat as a 30th-birthday gift to his friend and confidante Dr. Robert Giller, and is being consigned, with impeccable provenance, by Dr. Giller’s widow. With the exception of a recent traveling three-stop museum exhibit about Warhol and Halston, Money Hat has not been on view to the public.
Dr. Giller can be seen wearing the hat in Andy Warhol’s Exposures, a book published in 1979 and filled with celebrity photos Warhol took with his ever-at-hand Kodak TX-36. Dr. Giller’s copy of the book, autographed on the cover and inscribed on the title page To the Doc/Love, Andy, is part of the lot.
Says John Nye: “It is not every day that an undiscovered work by Warhol comes to the market, much less one in the form of a hat, so my company is elated to be able to put it before the public in this auction,” adding that “We are anticipating a lot of spirited bidding.”
The public is welcomed and encouraged to attend the exhibition at Nye and Company in Bloomfield and to bid at the live auction. With the exception of Saturday, November 7, Money Hat will be available for viewing every day at the Nye and Company galleries until the auction closes on November 11. The galleries are open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Sunday, November 8, the exhibition will open at 12 Noon and remain open until 7 p.m. for a reception. Condition reports and additional photographs are available for those unable to make it to Bloomfield.
