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Andy Warhol's Rolls-Royce

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Do cars take on the qualities of their owners? For collectors of classic automobiles, celebrity provenance adds considerable value to vintage makes and models. Just look at the fervor caused by the auction of the supposed "JFK ambulance" at Barrett-Jackson, covered by Hannah Elliott in another Forbes blog.

I mulled over the mystique of famous previously owned cars when photos and information about Andy Warhol's 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow caught my attention a few weeks ago. While the ambulance listing was a bit grotesque, an object belonging to Warhol has a very different kind of cultural innuendo. Warhol's last work before his death was a commission of car portraits for Mercedes-Benz.

I found the listing on this site. After I wrote this post, I received a comment from Ken Marquis, who claims to be the current owner. I reached out to him and received this response:

"Thanks for your note about my 1974 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow owned by Andy Warhol until his untimely death.  I was one of the many people who bid on the car at Sotheby's when his estate was auctioned about a year after his death.  I was an unsuccessful bidder.  At my request Sotheby's passed my name on to the successful bidder, a California art dealer.   That dealer sold me the auto about three or four years later."

He continued:

"I considered selling the auto for the 20th anniversary of Andy's death.  I received some interesting offers but none that I accepted.  As the 25th anniversary of his death approaches I once again would consider selling the Rolls for of course the "right" offer.  The car sold at auction for $77,000."

One may look at the milk chocolate brown Rolls-Royce, and visualize Andy and other factory members cruising through Chelsea, off for a weekend in the Hamptons. The image creates questions: Did Andy drive himself? What was discussed on those drives? Who else sat in the passenger seat? Did they drive fast?

One may imagine Warhol, with his symmetrical bowl cut, making for a distinct profile, windows down. I'm sure photos of Andy in the car exist, with the tremendous documentation trail he left in life, cinema and art. Perhaps there was even a Polaroid or two snapped in the backseat.

The point is that possession is enhanced by the value of the story. As one of the great cultural influences on 20th century life, many people sought to bask in the sheen of Warhol.  In her book "Just Kids,"Patti Smith recalls joining Robert Mapplethorpe at Max's of Kansas City to gain access to the infamous round table where Andy and the Factory regulars hung out. Perhaps by projecting Warhol's imagery on the car, the new owner buys into an outtake on pop art, an extra 15 minutes, or into the essence of one of his valuable works. Or perhaps it's just another vintage Rolls-Royce.