Grapes — Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol: Grapes (F.S. II.190-195)

Market Position & Performance

The Grapes portfolio occupies a distinctive position within Warhol's print market—a suite that draws serious collectors precisely because it operates outside the artist's most heavily traded iconography. Guy Hepner has completed 478 Warhol transactions totalling over $51 million across 292 collectors, and our experience confirms that sophisticated buyers increasingly seek portfolios with demonstrated auction activity but without the saturation that characterises Flowers or Marilyn editions.

Auction records reveal compelling price architecture across the series. At the highest documented threshold, Grapes F.S. II.193 realised an extraordinary $105,445,000 in November 2013—a figure that demands contextualisation against Warhol's broader market, where Shot Sage Blue Marilyn achieved $195,040,000 at Christie's in May 2022, establishing the benchmark for twentieth-century works at auction. More recently, Grapes F.S. II.190 brought $304,800 in October 2023, while the complete portfolio (F.S. II.190-195) matched that result in the same sale period. Earlier market activity shows GBP 11,155 for a complete portfolio in November 2007 and GBP 5,400 for II.190 individually that same month—evidence of substantial appreciation over the intervening sixteen years.

This pricing trajectory positions Grapes as a portfolio with proven auction liquidity and meaningful value growth, offering entry points that differ substantially from the artist's most contested series while maintaining the institutional recognition that underpins long-term collection value.

Technical & Historical Context

Created in 1979 and published by Andy Warhol Enterprises, New York, the Grapes portfolio comprises six screenprints on Strathmore Bristol paper, each measuring 40 × 30 inches. The series belongs to Warhol's late-career exploration of natural subjects—a thematic departure that followed his monumental commissioned portrait work and preceded the Retrospective and Myths portfolios of the early 1980s.

Warhol's choice of grapes carries deliberate art-historical resonance. Still life subjects loaded with symbolic weight—abundance, mortality, the fleeting nature of pleasure—recur throughout Western painting from Dutch Golden Age masters forward. By rendering this classical motif through his signature screenprint process, Warhol collapsed the distance between high art tradition and mechanical reproduction, extending the conceptual project that defined his entire practice.

The suite's colour variations across all six prints demonstrate Warhol's systematic approach to image repetition with chromatic difference—each impression transforms identical compositional structure through shifts in palette that alter mood, visual temperature, and decorative application entirely.

Individual Works & Collector Preferences

The complete portfolio (F.S. II.190-195) represents the ideal acquisition for collectors building institutional-quality holdings. Presenting all six colour variants together delivers the full conceptual scope Warhol intended while ensuring maximum flexibility for future deaccessioning—complete portfolios command premium positioning at auction and attract broader bidder pools.

Among individual sheets, F.S. II.193 has generated the most dramatic market results, though serious collectors should evaluate each variant's colour composition against their existing holdings. The warmer iterations complement collections weighted toward Warhol's portrait work, while cooler palettes create productive dialogue with his Flowers series or the Space Fruit portfolio that followed in 1979.

From our transactional experience, European collectors frequently gravitate toward the complete portfolio as a considered entry into Warhol's still life material, while American buyers often acquire individual impressions to fill specific gaps in colour-focused collections. The uniform 40 × 30 inch format across all six works offers curatorial flexibility—the suite functions equally well displayed as a grid installation or distributed across multiple rooms within a residence.

Authentication & Condition Considerations

Each impression from the Grapes portfolio should bear Warhol's signature in pencil on the verso, accompanied by edition numbering and the publisher's stamp from Andy Warhol Enterprises. The Feldman-Schellmann catalogue raisonné (F.S. II.190-195) provides definitive documentation, and any acquisition should reference these standard numbers.

Strathmore Bristol paper, while robust, remains susceptible to condition issues common across Warhol's print editions. Examine sheets carefully for tonal shifts along edges that indicate light exposure, surface abrasions within the screenprinted areas, and any evidence of foxing or moisture damage in the paper margins. Impressions retained in original portfolio cases with interleaving tissue generally present superior condition compared to works that have been framed since publication.

Given the portfolio's forty-six-year age, professional conservation assessment prior to acquisition protects against costly remediation. Guy Hepner provides detailed condition reports for every work we handle, documenting any restoration history and current state with reference photographs that support both insurance valuation and future resale.

Investment Analysis & Acquisition Strategy

Against Warhol's broader market—where Mao prints reached $4,648,000 at Christie's in May 2025 and Flowers achieved $4,076,000 at Sotheby's that same month—the Grapes portfolio presents a strategic opportunity for collectors seeking Warhol exposure without competing in the artist's most aggressively bid categories.

The sixteen-year appreciation from GBP 11,155 (2007) to $304,800 (2023) for complete portfolios demonstrates genuine compound growth, outpacing many comparable Warhol print series during the same period. This trajectory reflects increasing collector recognition that the still life subjects offer conceptual depth and art-historical sophistication that sustain long-term institutional interest.

For 2026 acquisitions, we advise prioritising complete portfolios where condition supports premium valuation—supply remains constrained as established collections absorb available material. Individual impressions in exceptional condition offer lower capital commitment with proportionate appreciation potential, though resale liquidity improves substantially with full suites. Given current pricing, the Grapes portfolio delivers meaningful Warhol collection representation at thresholds well below the artist's trophy-level material while maintaining the auction validation that institutional buyers require.

Acquire Through Guy Hepner

Guy Hepner maintains active inventory across the Grapes portfolio and can source specific variants for collectors with defined requirements. Contact our New York team to discuss available works, condition details, and acquisition timing aligned with your collection objectives.