Andy Warhol — A La Recherche Du Shoe Perdu For Sale

A La Recherche Du Shoe Perdu by Andy Warhol

Series Performance & Market Position

Andy Warhol's A La Recherche Du Shoe Perdu represents one of the most compelling acquisition opportunities within the artist's pre-Pop commercial period, demonstrating remarkable price appreciation over the past two decades. The auction trajectory for this series tells a striking story. One work achieved $24,425,000 in November 2016—an extraordinary result that underscores institutional recognition of Warhol's 1950s output. This same work had traded at $120,000 in May 2006, representing a return that far outpaces most categories within the contemporary art market. Another work moved from $17,500 in 2013 to previous sales at $120,000, while Any One For Shoes? progressed from FRF 18,000 in 1988 to $120,000 by 2006.

These figures gain additional context when measured against Warhol's current market strength. Christie's achieved $195,040,000 for Shot Sage Blue Marilyn in May 2022—the highest price ever recorded for a 20th-century artwork at auction. Mao prints each realising $4,648,000 at Christie's, and Flowers prints achieving $4,076,000 and $3,832,000 at Sotheby's. This sustained demand at the top end continues to elevate interest in Warhol's foundational commercial work.

Technical & Historical Context

Created in 1955, A La Recherche Du Shoe Perdu emerged during Warhol's successful career as a commercial illustrator in New York. The title—a playful riff on Marcel Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu—signals the literary wit that distinguished Warhol from his contemporaries in advertising illustration.

The series comprises offset lithographs on paper with hand colouring, measuring approximately 10 x 14 inches for most works. Ralph Pomeroy contributed accompanying poems, establishing a collaborative format that anticipated Warhol's later Factory productions. The hand-coloured elements introduce variation between impressions, making each work effectively unique despite the reproductive medium.

These shoe illustrations secured Warhol significant recognition within the New York fashion and advertising world, particularly through his work with I. Miller. The decorative charm of these pieces belies their historical importance: they document the precise moment when commercial art began its transformation into Pop, with Warhol as the central figure in that transition.

Individual Works & Collector Preferences

The series encompasses multiple works, each featuring Warhol's distinctive blotted-line technique combined with hand-applied colour. Certain works command particular collector attention.

One work stands as the series benchmark following its 2016 auction result. The title's nostalgic American reference, paired with delicate blue colouring, creates immediate visual appeal. Two other works, including Any One For Shoes?, have both demonstrated consistent secondary market activity, making them reliable indicators of series health.

Another work introduces political imagery that resonates with collectors focused on Warhol's later engagement with American iconography. Another work extends the literary wordplay, referencing Gertrude Stein, while Zsa Zsa Gabor Shoe anticipates Warhol's celebrity portraiture by three decades.

One smaller work presents a slightly smaller format at 9 1/8 x 7 7/8 inches. Collectors building comprehensive Warhol holdings frequently pursue multiple works from this series to represent the full range of Warhol's commercial-period sensibility. The Andy Warhol Foundation authentication board, while no longer active for new submissions, established provenance standards that remain essential for market acceptance.

Condition assessment for these works demands particular attention to several factors. The hand-coloured elements—typically applied in Dr. Martin's dyes or watercolour—are susceptible to light fading and require examination under controlled conditions. Paper quality varies between impressions; foxing, toning, and handling creases affect value significantly given the works' age approaching seven decades.

The offset lithograph base should display consistent impression quality without areas of ink loss or registration problems. Margins matter considerably for these works—full margins command premiums, while trimmed examples trade at discount. Previous mounting, tape residue, and conservation treatments should be documented and disclosed. We recommend examination of any prospective acquisition under both raking light and ultraviolet illumination to identify restoration or paper damage not visible under standard viewing conditions.

Acquire Works from A La Recherche Du Shoe Perdu

Guy Hepner maintains active inventory and sourcing relationships for this series. Contact our New York team directly to discuss available works, condition reports, and acquisition strategy tailored to your collection objectives.

Warhol's Broader Practice

This series belongs to the vast and varied body of print and painted work Warhol produced across five decades, during which he moved fluidly between celebrity portraiture, consumer product imagery, historical appropriation, and personal or commissioned subject matter — all filtered through the same signature screenprint process that flattened the distinction between mechanical reproduction and fine art. Warhol's insistence on treating commercial printing techniques as a primary artistic medium, rather than a secondary reproductive tool, remains one of the most influential positions in postwar American art.

Warhol's work is held in the permanent collections of major museums worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Tate Modern, and the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, which maintains the most complete public archive of his output across all periods and subjects.