Andy Warhol
High Society Portrait, 1977
Silkscreen on canvas
40 1/2 x 40 1/2 in
(102.87 x 102.87 cm)
(102.87 x 102.87 cm)
Signed and dated on verso The star of this portrait in Andy Warhol's Society Portraits series is Texan art dealer Joyce Balick “Shaindy” Fenton. She founded Fenton Fine Arts in...
Signed and dated on verso
The star of this portrait in Andy Warhol's Society Portraits series is Texan art dealer Joyce Balick “Shaindy” Fenton. She founded Fenton Fine Arts in Fort Worth, which is a prestige gallery that lives on even after her passing in 1994. Fenton is remembered closely with her nickname chosen as the title of the painting. Warhol had two separate photoshoots where he snapped Polaroids of Shaindy, which went on to become three silkscreens, one of which is black and white. These Polaroids are retained in museum collections today including The Andy Warhol foundation for the Visual Arts and the photographic collection at the University of Michigan. In total there are 68 polaroids Warhol took of Shaindy Fenton at The Factory in New York City.
Fenton collected a number of Warhol portraits previous to having one produced of her own. This included two different versions of Liz Taylor set against a silver background. As an art dealer herself, she had met Leo Castelli in New York, who likely became her introduction to the artist himself.
It is likely that Fenton introduced the collector Patsy Nasher to Andy Warhol, and that the women traveled from Texas together to have their portraits created. Patsy Nasher went on to become a prominent art collector, founding with her husband the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. The Nasher's had portraits made of each of their daughters as well, which hang together in their museum. Both paintings of Shaindy Fenton and Patsy Nasher utilize the same electric turquoise outlining their eyes.
The Andy Warhol retrospective at The Whitney Museum of American Art in 2018-2019, From A-to-B and Back Again, had an entire gallery displaying Warhol's Society Portrait series. This monumental painting in full color is the same time period and size as those featured in the exhibition, including paintings of Debbie Harry, and Aretha Franklin.
The star of this portrait in Andy Warhol's Society Portraits series is Texan art dealer Joyce Balick “Shaindy” Fenton. She founded Fenton Fine Arts in Fort Worth, which is a prestige gallery that lives on even after her passing in 1994. Fenton is remembered closely with her nickname chosen as the title of the painting. Warhol had two separate photoshoots where he snapped Polaroids of Shaindy, which went on to become three silkscreens, one of which is black and white. These Polaroids are retained in museum collections today including The Andy Warhol foundation for the Visual Arts and the photographic collection at the University of Michigan. In total there are 68 polaroids Warhol took of Shaindy Fenton at The Factory in New York City.
Fenton collected a number of Warhol portraits previous to having one produced of her own. This included two different versions of Liz Taylor set against a silver background. As an art dealer herself, she had met Leo Castelli in New York, who likely became her introduction to the artist himself.
It is likely that Fenton introduced the collector Patsy Nasher to Andy Warhol, and that the women traveled from Texas together to have their portraits created. Patsy Nasher went on to become a prominent art collector, founding with her husband the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. The Nasher's had portraits made of each of their daughters as well, which hang together in their museum. Both paintings of Shaindy Fenton and Patsy Nasher utilize the same electric turquoise outlining their eyes.
The Andy Warhol retrospective at The Whitney Museum of American Art in 2018-2019, From A-to-B and Back Again, had an entire gallery displaying Warhol's Society Portrait series. This monumental painting in full color is the same time period and size as those featured in the exhibition, including paintings of Debbie Harry, and Aretha Franklin.
Provenance
The Estate of Shaindy Fenton.Artist to Shaindy Fenton.