''Triple Elvis'' is a 1963 painting of
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
by the American artist
Andy Warhol. The photographic image of Elvis used by Warhol as a basis for this work, taken from a
publicity still from the movie ''
Flaming Star'', has become iconic and synonymous with the singer.
A ''Triple Elvis was sold for $81.9m (£51.9m) at a
Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...
auction in New York in November 2014.
Another Triple Elvis (1964, 208.3 x 121.5 cm.), the first in the Triple Elvis series whose price became known, heralded a trio of images so close together that they appear to be one. It sold at Christie's on November 19, 1998 for US$1,872,500.
Other versions
Other paintings of the same subject by Warhol show Elvis repeated a number of times, such as in the silkscreen painting ''Double Elvis'', which reproduces the second image, almost as a shadow, owned by the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
.
A further version of the painting, ''Double Elvis (Ferus type)'', was auctioned on May 17, 2018, for US$37 million. Another larger version, ''
Eight Elvises'' is a 1963
silkscreen, was sold in 2008 by
Annibale Berlingieri for
$100 million to a private buyer. The current owner and location of the painting, which has not been seen publicly since the 1960s, are unknown.
Appropriations of Warhol's Elvis paintings
Other prominent artists have been inspired by Warhol's paintings of Elvis, such as British YBA artist,
Gavin Turk, who appropriated the image and stance of Elvis in the Warhol series to produce his own versions of the work. Examples of Turk's silkscreen works on canvas are Yellow Diamond Elvis, 2005, and Pink Diamond Elvis, 2005.
See also
*
Eight Elvises
*
List of most expensive paintings
*
List of all known Elvis silkscreens by Warhol, their current location, buyers, sellers, as well as prices met, when known
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Triple Elvis
1963 paintings
Paintings by Andy Warhol
Cultural depictions of Elvis Presley
20th-century portraits