Displaying items by tag: triple elvis

With the continued controversy surrounding the sale of two Andy Warhol paintings, "Triple Elvis" (1963) and "Four Marlons" (1966), having been sold by the Westspiel casino conglomerate. Museum directors in North Rhine-Westphalia sent a petition to the regional government in an attempt to prevent the paintings' sale at Christie's New York last November.

In the ongoing storm of protest is emerged that the casino chain Westspiel is in fact a subsidiary of the State Bank of North Rhine-Westphalia. A fact that prompted German culture minister Monika Grütters of the center-right CDU party to accuse North Rhine-Westphalia's center-left-led regional government of selling the artworks in order consolidate state debts.

In mid-september the German casino conglomerate Westspiel announced their plan to sell "Triple Elvis"(1963) and "Four Marlons" (1966) at Christie’s, New York in November. The paintings are expected to fetch over €100 million or £80 million. A petition has since been sent by twenty-six museum directors in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia to the regional government, demanding it prevent the auction of two works by Andy Warhol, reports "Die Welt."

In the petition, the directors claim that the sale “contravenes international conventions” whose ultimate goal is to “protect public cultural heritage.” They fear the sale could set a very dangerous precedent that could become a “controversial political issue with considerable ripple effect.”