by D. W. Travers, The Chicago Times
October 24, 2021
SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Alice Cooper, the American rock legend, auctioned off a painting by Andy Warhol titled ‘Little Electric Chair’ Red (1964). Regrettably, it did not sell. For over 40 years, the silkscreen on canvas was stored in a lock-up garage alongside stage sets and memorabilia from his ‘Schools Out’ tour in the early 1970s. The painting from Warhol’s Death and Disaster series is one of his most powerful works. It was estimated to fetch $4.5 million at the Larsen Art Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Cooper first met Warhol in the 1960s in New York. By 1970, the two were frequenting Max’s Kansas City nightclub. The club was frequented by Warhol Superstars, drag queens, and male hustlers, with The New York Dolls as the resident band. Cindy Lang, a Revlon model at the time, was Cooper’s then-girlfriend. She was the art buyer’s fixer, offering Warhol $2,500 for the 1964 canvas.
This ‘Little Electric Chair’ painting was donated to the Alice and Sheryl Cooper Collection by Cindy Lang, who appeared on the cover of Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine in 1973. In 1971/72, Lang purchased it directly from the Andy Warhol Factory.
The Chicago Times 