With the Warhol Market On Hiatus, Why Is Liza Minnelli Selling Her Collection Now?

Is it a comment on the state of the Warhol market or just a function of the holiday weekend? Richard Johnson’s report last Sunday that Liza Minnelli is quietly shopping her Warhols comes as a real surprise. This would seem to be a trough in the Warhol market, not a time for anyone to sell unless they have something incredibly rare and spectacular.

Here’s Johnson’s description of the works from Minnelli’s New York apartment that are for sale:

A list I obtained of the 22 artworks includes four portraits of Liza, three of her mother, Judy Garland, and three of her father, Vincente Minnelli. […]

Sources said Minnelli is asking $40 million for the entire collection. “But it’s worth more than that,” art dealer Robert Dupont told me. “Other Liza portraits have gone for $4 million at auction.”

That $40m asking price would not seem to comport with recent auction prices (though without Minnelli’s provenance.) The highest price for those 40 x 40 Judy Garlands was $4m for two paintings sold in February of 2008, a peak point. Two Lizas have sold at auction, according to Artnet’s database. But neither broke $1m, let alone the $4m as mentioned in Johnson’s report.

Liza Minnelli quietly selling off Andy Warhol collection  (Page Six)