It would be the crying-est of shames were the incredibly powerful photo that pop art pioneer Andy Warhol snapped of John Oates (of dynamic pop duo Hall & Oates) in his beloved “War Damn Eagle” T-shirt in 1981, which is being auctioned off by Christie’s — and which TWER was honored to introduce to the Auburn world last week — to end up in some snooty Brooklyn loft or something rather than the Loveliest Village. You know it. We know. And Auburn’s Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art knows it. And they’re taking exactly the kind of action you’d hoped they would.
They just may need your help
The museum plans to [UPDATE: Make that has already] bid on the photo, which is part of Christie’s new “Andy Warhol @ Christie’s: The Entertainers” series. The starting bid is set at $2,000. The auction ends Wednesday.
“We’re prepared to bid approximately bid $3,000,” says the museum’s Print and Digital Media producer, Charlotte Hendrix. However, since Christie’s expects the photo to go for possibly as high as $5,000, Hendrix says the museum’s acquisition folks are seeking just-in-case private donations through noon tomorrow to help them “stay competitive” through auction’s end.
“That’s why we’re hoping to tap into the Auburn Family — to make this part of the museum’s permanent collection,” Hendrix says.
And not just for the War Damn novelty of it all, either. The museum’s permanent collection actually already includes a set of Polaroids that Warhol snapped of celebrities, including shots of Cheryl Tiegs, Chris Evert (sister of former Auburn tennis star Drew Evert—what a headline), Georgia O’Keeffe, and Sean Lennon among others, that are currently on display in an exhibit celebrating the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art’s tenth anniversary.
John Oates in white jeans and a sleeveless Auburn T-shirt which he almost certainly acquired during Hall & Oates stop in Auburn in May 1981 would obviously be the cherry on top.
Those interested in helping to, in the words of the 1981 Hall & Oates hit, make my dreams come true can contact Melaine Bennett at 334-844-7945.
War-Hol Eagle.
Edit: Chris Evert (SISTER of former Auburn tennis star Drew Evert
Yes Can Do
“snooty brooklyn loft” hahaha. all right, jeremy.
That picture you sent of your place was EXACTLY what I was thinking about. Probably should have added “with exposed brick.”