A "Jackson," by Warhol, via Vered, to ArtHampton

By Debbie Tuma

For the first time since Michael Jackson's death, a major portrait of the artist is being offered and is now at a Hamptons art gallery.

On Friday night, July 3, at 6 p.m., the Vered Gallery of East Hampton opened a silent auction of Andy Warhol's "Michael Jackson" painting, starting at a minimum bid of $800,000. The auction will run through Sunday at 4 p.m., for lots under $1 million. For lots above $1 million, the bidding will continue until 5 minutes passes without a final bid. In other words, if the bidding hits the million mark, it will go for 3,000 more seconds.

"We estimate this painting, created in 1984, will sell for $1 million to $10 million," said Ruth Vered, who owns the East Hampton gallery with her partner, Janet Lehr. "Andy Warhol, who lived out here in Montauk, was the master of twentieth century pop art, and Michael Jackson is the pop music icon."

The 30 x 26-inch, synthetic polymer painting on canvas is a portrait of a smiling Jackson in his red military jacket from his 1984 album, Thriller. The portrait is stamped twice by the Estate of Andy Warhol and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. It has been exhibited around the world, from Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo to Las Vegas.

"This auction is an unparallelled moment," said Lehr. "Warhol in the Hamptons is so important because he's a monumental figure who had a spectacular oceanfront estate in Montauk, so we have the meetings of the world's greatest artists in the fields of art and music."

She said the Michael Jackson painting, which originally came from the Warhol estate, was consigned to the gallery by a New York private collector.

Vered said that three years ago, her gallery had an exhibit of 20 of Warhol's famous athlete paintings, including Mohammed Ali, Pele, O.J. Simpson, Chris Evert and Jack Nicklaus. "But I wanted to have the legendary Michael Jackson," she said. "I'm angry that all these people who are going to his grave abandoned him when he was most vulnerable and in need."

She said her gallery has an auction every year, with a percentage going to different charities. This year, Vered, of Tel-Aviv, said she is donating part of the proceeds to Sderot, a town in Israel that had suffered bombing for about eight years.

The Michael Jackson painting will be moved from the Vered Gallery to the ArtHamptons exhibit on Thursday, July 10, when it opens on Main Street in Bridgehampton. This International Art Fair will be presenting over $200 million in Fine Art for purchase. It is the first and only fine art fair in the Hamptons featuring modern and contemporary art from 64 nationally renowned galleries that sell museum caliber art from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

ArtHamptons provides collectors with a summer opportunity to purchase significant paintings, sculpture, drawings, photography and prints. The event includes an opening gala, collectors' preview, daily guest lecturers, book signings, silent auctions and door prizes, an official poster, celebrities, and a VIP Lounge.

Andy Warhol's "Michael Jackson" painting will return to the Vered Gallery from ArtHamptons on Sunday, July 12, when the silent auction ends at 4 p.m.

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