Andy Warhol, Black Rhinoceros, from Endangered Species, 1983. Evening & Day Editions London.
Andy Warhol
Anne Schneider-Wilson, Senior International Specialist
I know, I know! It is way too big to be a pet – but if I could, wouldn’t it be wonderful?
And if I may, I’d love Warhol’s emerald green and bubblegum pink variety or maybe Dürer’s slightly more domestic black and white species from 1515.
I would name it Clara, after the pet Rhino which was adopted in 1738 and toured Europe for 17 years. At weekends I’d take her to the park and stand by the dedicated Rhino Green, with all the other Rhino owners, watching the Crash!
David Hockney
Left: David Hockney, Dog Wall, 1998. David Hockney London. Right: Young Robert Kennan and Hansel.
Robert Kennan, Head of Editions, Europe
Every time I look at Hockney’s dachshunds, they remind me of Hansel, my first dog. Mum would say “Don’t squeeze him so hard, he’s not a teddy,” to which I would reply “but I love him so much.”
Kiki Smith
Kiki Smith, Untitled (For David Wojnarowicz), 2000. Evening & Day Editions London.
Rebecca Tooby-Desmond, Specialist, Head of Sale
It’s a bog-off deal. Buy One (Arachnid) Get One (Cephalopod) Free! Hairy knuckles and slimy suckers attached to an octarchy of legs, limbs, tentacles, what have you. If you pull one off, will it regrow? Or will it sprout another eight-appendaged spindly or slippery friend, like a spider-plant propagation? Before you know it, you’ll have a cluster and a consortium! Spooky or squelchy are the pets for me.
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol, Sam, circa 1954. Evening & Day Editions London.
Georgie Byworth-Morgan, Associate Researcher
This fuchsia feline friend has a mysterious charm that leaves you unsure – is he sweet or scary? Sam’s velvety coat makes you want to reach out and stroke him, yet his entrancing eyes seem to peer into the depths of your soul. He was one of many Sams in the Manhattan apartment that Andy Warhol shared with his mother throughout the 1950s. After worrying that their cat, Hester, might be lonely, they quickly acquired a colony of 25 additional cats, all of whom they gave the same name…! I can’t help but question: in a household where the cats outnumber the people, who is really in charge? Is Sam content with being a loveable and loyal companion, or is he (together with his 24 friends) silently plotting to overturn the human-pet dynamic, one purr at a time?
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder, Star, from Our Finished Revolution, 1976. Evening & Day Editions London.
Hebe Reynolds, Editions Intern
The newt plays the flute, the carp plays the harp, the plaice plays the bass... Quick! If you don’t hurry, you will miss Ariel and Sebastian’s underwater performance! The trout’s rockin' out with the crustacean band, under the water below the sand. Even the sturgeon, he got the urge n’ nobody eats us where they can’t see us! Below the depths we have no troubles. We’re off the hook – life is the bubbles!
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein, Still Life With Lobster, from Six Still Lifes Series, 1974. Evening & Day Editions London.
Julia Paeslack, Cataloguer
Ahoy there, my red-bellied pet! Artistic practice meets anaphylaxis in this Pop still-life elegy, the perfect memento mori to my crustacean allergy. Claws for thought, tail for days, this carapace princess nip-nip-nips my problems away. So, are you feeling cray? Take a sip from the carafe and join the Mayfair riff-raff as we crack the gavel like a local crab shack.
Joan Miró
Joan Miró, Le Grillon (The Cricket), 1958. Evening & Day Editions London.
Louisa Earl, Associate Specialist
I may need to fashion a small cricket carrier, but won’t let that stop me from putting Le grillon on my shoulder. What a sidekick! Music – check; smol – check; quirky – check; lucky charm – check! The world is my oyster with Le grillon composing the soundtrack. I’ll take a leaf from Mulan – an adventure is not an adventure without a cricket by my side.
Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik, Sonatine for Goldfish, 1992. Evening & Day Editions London.
Christian Rosolino, Editions Adminstrator
Nothing brings a family together more than a night sat in front of the telly. But are you leaving someone out? Is your pet, the very nucleus of your family, being left out at sea?
Be shellfish no more, as thanks to Nam June Paik, your fishy friends can now enjoy their favorite programs and become a big fish on their very own TV show, too. Yes, you’re herring that correctly – Sonatine for Goldfish is the only plaice your pet will want to be! There might be plenty of fish in the sea, but how many can say that they o-fish-ally live in a Nam June Paik multiple? Oh My Cod, they will love it!
Have you understood the Bass-ignment? Don’t be like your goldfish and forget that if you get bored of the same old codswallop on your digital TV, you can just kick back and watch the story of your favorite pet unfold within your very own Sonatine for Goldfish. So don’t mullet over any more - swim like a shark, and not like a shrimp, to snap this one up!
*slippery swimmers not included. If you successfully win this lot, you will not find nemo (unless you caught this Latin pun, in which case you will!)
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