Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
An icon, times two.
Andy Warhol’s ‘Double Elvis’, is one of the artist’s most celebrated meditations on celebrity, American myth and the value of an image in the age of mass media. Painted in 1963, this large-scale painting is the culmination of a series of portraits in which Warhol not only immortalised Hollywood royalty such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, but also considered the precarious nature of their fame.
‘Double Elvis’ both pays tribute to a larger-than-life superstar whose fame Warhol so coveted and admired, while at the same time undermining it. Based on a 1960 studio portrait, Warhol places Elvis against a spaceless silver background, blown up larger than life, but oddly stiff. Instead of giving us the West’s authentic cowboy ideal, Warhol offers a second-hand type-figure being played by the character of Elvis Presley. A copy of a copy of a copy.
Taking this logic to its limit, ‘Double Elvis’ is one of 22 extant examples from Warhol’s ‘Ferus Type’ Elvis series. Today, few remain in private hands, with 11 works from the series in museum collections, including the canvas Bob Dylan insisted on taking in exchange for his presence in a Warhol film (now housed at the Museum of Modern Art, New York).
Last sold at Christie’s New York in 2019, the king returns to the auction block this spring for another duel with the master of Pop.
🔗 Discover Warhol’s ‘Double Elvis’: christies.com/en/lot/lot-6585794?ldp_breadcrumb=back&cid=EM_SM_O_YT_Inc_LDP___24265_2021CNY0525____VID__
📅 20th Century Evening Sale | New York | 18 May
An icon, times two.
Andy Warhol’s ‘Double Elvis’, is one of the artist’s most celebrated meditations on celebrity, American myth and the value of an image in the age of mass media. Painted in 1963, this large-scale painting is the culmination of a series of portraits in which Warhol not only immortalised Hollywood royalty such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, but also considered the precarious nature of their fame.
‘Double Elvis’ both pays tribute to a larger-than-life superstar whose fame Warhol so coveted and admired, while at the same time undermining it. Based on a 1960 studio portrait, Warhol places Elvis against a spaceless silver background, blown up larger than life, but oddly stiff. Instead of giving us the West’s authentic cowboy ideal, Warhol offers a second-hand type-figure being played by the character of Elvis Presley. A copy of a copy of a copy.
Taking this logic to its limit, ‘Double Elvis’ is one of 22 extant examples from Warhol’s ‘Ferus Type’ Elvis series. Today, few remain in private hands, with 11 works from the series in museum collections, including the canvas Bob Dylan insisted on taking in exchange for his presence in a Warhol film (now housed at the Museum of Modern Art, New York).
Last sold at Christie’s New York in 2019, the king returns to the auction block this spring for another duel with the master of Pop.
🔗 Discover Warhol’s ‘Double Elvis’: christies.com/en/lot/lot-6585794?ldp_breadcrumb=back&cid=EM_SM_O_YT_Inc_LDP___24265_2021CNY0525____VID__
📅 20th Century Evening Sale | New York | 18 May
