Andy Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians Sets World Auction Record at $1.03 Million

Andy Warhol’s complete Cowboys and Indians portfolio has sold for $1,031,250 at Heritage Auctions, setting a world auction record for the celebrated 1986 suite. The portfolio led Heritage’s October 22 Prints & Multiples Signature Auction, surpassing the previous Cowboys and Indians auction record of $1,008,000 set at Sotheby’s in 2022. The entire 150-lot Heritage sale realized $3.85 million, making it the second-highest total for a Prints & Multiples auction in the company’s history.

Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians brings together figures and imagery associated with the American West across 10 brightly colored screenprints. The portfolio includes John Wayne, Geronimo and Annie Oakley alongside ceremonial objects and an image of the familiar Indian Head nickel. The record-setting set was offered with its original box and included a particularly unusual John Wayne impression inscribed “Unique.” According to Heritage Auctions, the print features hand-applied elements, including a pink-to-blue gradient on Wayne’s gun and a red stripe on one tie of his bandana.

“Breaking the world auction record for Cowboys and Indians is a tremendous achievement for our team and a thrilling result for our consignor,” says Aviva Lehmann, Heritage’s Deputy Chairman of Fine Art. “This portfolio brings together so many collecting passions – American history, Hollywood, Western art and Pop – and bidders responded with extraordinary enthusiasm. To see it lead one of our strongest Prints & Multiples auctions ever is especially gratifying.”

Warhol’s portfolio was the biggest result in an auction that drew 864 international bidders and achieved a 99% sell-through rate. Several other works also established auction records. Frank Stella’s six-work Sinjerli Variations Squared with Colored Grounds from 1981 sold for $275,000, the second-highest auction result for that portfolio. Another Stella suite, the four-work Jasper’s Dilemma from 1973, brought $40,000 and established a new auction record for the portfolio.

Salvador Dalí’s 1965 lithograph Cosmic Rays Resuscitating Soft Watches sold for $30,000, setting an auction record for the work. Rashid Johnson’s 2023 Untitled (Seascape) reached $57,500, also establishing a record for that piece. David Hockney’s Tyler Dining Room from the 1984 Moving Focus series realized $175,000. Another Warhol work, Albert Einstein from Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century, sold for $90,625.

Heritage Auctions said the strong results reflected collector interest in complete portfolios, rare proofs and exceptional impressions across a wide range of artists. “The depth of bidding was exciting to watch, with collectors responding to rare proofs, complete portfolios and exceptional impressions across the sale,” says Rebecca Lax, Heritage’s New York-based Consignment Director for Prints and Multiples. “These results demonstrate both the breadth of demand and the essential place prints hold in today’s art market.”

The $1,031,250 result for Cowboys and Indians now stands as the highest auction price recorded for the complete Warhol suite, edging past the previous record by $23,250 and giving the 1986 portfolio a new benchmark in the public auction market.