1985 Debbie Harry Portrait by Andy Warhol Rediscovered & Being Sold
What was seemingly lost is found again: A famous Andy Warhol portrait of Blondie singer Debbie Harry that was considered long-lost has been recovered in rural Delaware. The piece of art was created back in 1985, when Warhol called Harry and asked if she wanted to model for a portrait that he was going to create live at the Lincoln Center, as a promotion for the Commodore Amiga computer.
In her memoir, Harry recalled the exciting event and shared: “They had a full orchestra and a large board set up with a bunch of technicians in lab coats. The techs programmed away with all the Warhol colors, as Andy designed and painted my portrait. I hammed it up some for the cameras, turning toward Andy, running my hand through my hair, and asking in a suggestive Marilyn voice, ‘Are you ready to paint me?’ Andy was pretty hilarious in his usual flat-affect way, as he sparred with the Commodore host.” She added that she believed there were only two copies of the finished work of art and she had one of them.
(A different piece of art by Warhol inspired by Harry) Oli Scarff/Getty Images
The other was thought to have disappeared, until it recently turned up, and is now being made available for sale. Commodore’s digital technician Jeff Bruette, who taught Warhol how to use the computer, had the art displayed in his home for almost 40 years. Now, he is getting ready to sell it along with the original Amiga disk containing eight images Warhol made during the event and an experimental image created during the MTV show Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes.
Oscar Abolafia/TPLP/Getty Images
“It’s been almost 40 years since I worked with Warhol—it was a life-changing assignment,” Bruette explained about the sale. “For just as long, any time someone has seen the portrait of Debbie hanging on my wall, or learned that I was ‘that guy who worked with Andy,’ especially after the recent explosion of NFTs and digital art, anyone who’s heard the story has been completely riveted. I thought it was time the world got to interact with this extraordinary artwork the way it was meant to be experienced.”
“Parting with this collection now gives me the chance to help find it the right home,” he added. “And, to be honest, could make retirement just a little bit more comfortable.”
Stay tuned to find out where the art will be for sale and how much it will sell for.
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