A treasure trove of works by the likes of Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat is heading for auction this week, after being discovered in a Massachusetts attic.
The collection of artworks and memorabilia were found by John McInnis Auctioneers, during an appraisal at the home of the late Harriet Gould.
The collection had originally belonged to Gould’s deceased son John Gould, a Paramount Pictures executive and Andy Warhol’s last boyfriend.
The pair met in 1980, and shared a relationship for five years before Gould sadly passed died of AIDS in 1986.
During this time Gould served as Warhol’s muse, appearing in hundreds of photographs, and amassed a collection of valuable paintings and prints by the iconic Pop artist.
When auction house director Dan Meader was initially called to Harriet Gould’s home to settle her estate, he had expected to find a collection of antiques and furniture.
He knew most of John Gould’s collection had been previously exhibited and stored away, but he was surprised to discover a cache of valuable works had remained stashed in his mother’s attic after he passed away.
Leading the collection is an abstract canvas (top) – one of only 18 examples known to have been painted by Warhol – that had been stretched across a broken frame as a unique sculpture.
Entitled ‘Abstraction- A Gift to Jon Gould’, the work was executed in 1983, and is now expected to fetch up to $1 million.
Another valuable work is one of Warhol’s newspaper headline sculptures, depicting a crumpled cover of the New York Post, estimated at $40,000 – $60,000.
Along with artworks by Warhol, the collection also includes pieces by his contemporaries such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring.
Most notable are two glass vases hand-painted by Basquiat, each valued at up to $60,000, along with signed prints by Haring and sketches by Antonio Lopez.
“It’s a blessing in a way that Harriet Gould was, as Andy was, a collector, as anyone who enters her home would attest,” said Dan Meader.
“Jon and Andy’s relationship was a complex one and by all accounts Andy was infatuated and in love with Jon, here for the first time we see a bit of the other side of the relationship.
“In Andy’s prior relationships, he did not shower them with gifts. This love with Jon was a challenge like he never had. He acted much differently with him and presented him with many personal expressions of objects and art.”
The sale of Gould’s estate takes place at John McInnis Auctioneers in Amesbury, Massachusetts on Friday December 1.
