Guy Hepner Gallery

Andy Warhol Howdy Doody Trial Proof TP 2/30 from Myths For Sale

Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol - Howdy Doody Trial Proof TP 2/30 from Myths, 1981, Screen print with diamond dust on Lenox Museum Board

Howdy Doody Trial Proof TP 2/30 from Myths, 1981

Screen print with diamond dust on Lenox Museum Board

38 x 38 in 96.5 x 96.5 cm

Edition

Edition of 200 plus 30 AP, 5 PP, 5 EP , 30 TP

About this work

Andy Warhol's Howdy Doody print from the Myths portfolio is a captivating depiction of the beloved American television character that became an iconic symbol of 1950s pop culture. Created in 1981, this piece is part of Warhol's larger series that reimagines familiar figures from folklore, fairy tales, and popular media.Howdy Doody was a puppet character featured on the children's television show The Howdy Doody Show, which aired from 1947 to 1960. The show was immensely popular during its time and is remembered for its colorful cast of characters and catchy theme song. Howdy Doody himself, with his distinctive red hair, wide smile, and freckled face, became an enduring symbol of innocence, nostalgia, and Americana.In Warhol's interpretation, Howdy Doody is rendered in his signature pop art style, with bold, vibrant colors and a flattened, graphic composition. The repetition of Howdy Doody's image across the canvas echoes Warhol's fascination with mass production and consumer culture, while simultaneously imbuing the character with a sense of mythic status.By elevating Howdy Doody to the realm of fine art, Warhol transforms a familiar childhood icon into a larger-than-life figure, inviting viewers to reconsider the cultural significance of this seemingly simple puppet. In doing so, Warhol highlights the power of mass media to shape collective memory and influence perceptions of identity and nostalgia.Furthermore, Warhol's inclusion of Howdy Doody in his Myths portfolio speaks to the enduring appeal of the character and his ability to capture the imagination of multiple generations. Despite being a product of a specific moment in American history, Howdy Doody continues to resonate with audiences as a symbol of innocence, wonder, and the power of imagination.Overall, Andy Warhol's Howdy Doody print from the Myths portfolio is a playful yet poignant exploration of nostalgia, media, and the enduring power of iconic symbols. Through his bold and colorful depiction of this beloved childhood character, Warhol invites viewers to reflect on the ways in which popular culture shapes our collective consciousness and influences our perceptions of the world around us.

Price on Application

Auction History

Andy Warhol - Howdy Doody, from Myths (F & S. II. 263)

Howdy Doody, from Myths (F & S. II. 263) · Andy Warhol · Heffel · 2021-10 · $68,992

Andy Warhol - Howdy Doody (from the Myths series)

Howdy Doody (from the Myths series) · Andy Warhol · Rago · 2021-06 · $56,250

Andy Warhol - Howdy Doody, from Myths

Howdy Doody, from Myths · Andy Warhol · Christie's · 2015-10 · $50,000

Andy Warhol - Howdy Doody, from Myths

Howdy Doody, from Myths · Andy Warhol · Christie's · 2016-04 · $50,000

Andy Warhol - Superman, The Witch, Santa Claus, Mammy, Mickey Mouse, Howdy Doody, Dracula, The Shadow, The Star and Uncle Sam

Superman, The Witch, Santa Claus, Mammy, Mickey Mouse, Howdy Doody, Dracula, The Shadow, The Star and Uncle Sam · Andy Warhol · Rago · 2018-11 · $50,000

More from this series

More series by Andy Warhol

About the Myths Series

Created in 1981, Andy Warhol's Myths portfolio (Feldman & Schellmann II.257–266) is one of the most conceptually ambitious print projects of his later career. Across ten prints, Warhol assembled a complete survey of twentieth-century American cultural mythology — the fictional, folkloric and commercial figures that populated the collective imagination of his generation.

What Is the Myths Series?

The portfolio brings together ten icons drawn from film, television, advertising, comic books and folklore: Mickey Mouse, Howdy Doody, The Star (Greta Garbo as Mata Hari), Mammy, Santa Claus, The Shadow, Dracula, The Witch, Superman and Uncle Sam. Taken together, they form a deliberate catalogue of modern American myth — the characters through which a nation told stories about heroism, fear, commerce and fantasy. Warhol treats these invented figures with the same iconographic gravity he once gave to Marilyn or Mao, suggesting that in the American century, fictional characters had become as culturally potent as any real person.

One of the most celebrated images, The Shadow, incorporates Warhol's own silhouette — a characteristically sly act of self-mythologising that places the artist among his pantheon of cultural phantoms.

Edition and Production Details

Each print in Myths measures 38 × 38 inches and is printed on Lenox Museum Board, frequently embellished with diamond dust for a glittering, tactile surface. The portfolio was published by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, and printed by Rupert Jasen Smith, New York — Warhol's principal printer of the 1980s.

The edition structure is important for collectors to understand:

  • 200 signed and numbered impressions — the primary collected edition.
  • 200 unsigned impressions.
  • 30 trial proofs (TP) plus artist's proofs — unique or near-unique colour variants.

Trial Proofs and Premiums

The trial proofs ("TP") carry a significant premium over the standard unsigned edition. Because each trial proof explores an alternative colourway, these impressions are effectively unique works and are prized accordingly by sophisticated collectors. When evaluating a Myths print, the distinction between a signed edition impression, an unsigned impression and a trial proof is the single most important factor in valuation.

Most Sought-After Images

  • Mickey Mouse — the broadest collector base of the entire portfolio and the most consistently in demand.
  • Superman — a powerful, instantly legible image with strong cross-market appeal.
  • Santa Claus — perennially popular, with demand that intensifies around the holiday season.

Market and Price Context

Complete Myths portfolios are rare and command a substantial premium when they appear, but individual prints remain widely accessible, making the series an attractive entry point into Warhol's 1980s output. Pricing varies considerably by image, edition type and condition — with Mickey Mouse, Superman and Santa Claus at the upper end, and trial proofs achieving the strongest results of all. The series is increasingly recognised by the market as evidence of Warhol's continued cultural acuity in the final decade of his life, and demand has strengthened accordingly.

Authentication

Authentic Myths prints are documented in Feldman & Schellmann (II.257–266) and should display the correct dimensions, Lenox Museum Board support, and — for the signed edition — Warhol's pencil signature and numbering. Trial proofs are annotated "TP" and require careful verification. As always, provenance, condition reporting and catalogue references are essential, and we advise acquiring only impressions with verifiable documentation.

Acquiring a Warhol Myths Print

Guy Hepner handles Myths prints across the full range of images and edition types, from accessible single prints to rare trial proofs and complete portfolios. Whether you are drawn to Mickey Mouse, Superman or a specific trial-proof colourway, our specialists can advise on availability, edition distinctions and current market value. View available Andy Warhol Myths prints for sale or contact the gallery to discuss a particular image.

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Howdy Doody Trial Proof TP 2/30 from Myths

About Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol prints for sale and Andy Warhol paintings for sale at Guy Hepner Gallery, New York. Our inventory spans screenprints, silkscreens, and unique works across his most collected series: Marilyn Monroe, Campbell's Soup, Mao, Flowers, Myths, Ads, Cowboys and Indians, Dollar Signs, Cars, and Reigning Queens — all with full provenance and Feldman & Schellmann catalogue raisonné references. We also acquire Warhol. Contact our team for a free valuation.

Andy Warhol (1928–1987) is the defining figure of American Pop Art and the most commercially traded artist of the twentieth century. Born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh to Slovak immigrant parents, he rose from commercial illustrator to the architect of a cultural movement that permanently dissolved the boundary between fine art and mass media. His Manhattan studio, The Factory, became the epicentre of New York art and celebrity culture from the early 1960s until his death in February 1987.

Andy Warhol Art For Sale

Andy Warhol art for sale spans an extraordinary range of subjects, media, and price points — from intimate drawings and unique canvas paintings to large signed editions. His signature subjects include Campbell's Soup Cans, Marilyn Monroe, Mao Zedong, Dollar Signs, Flowers, Reigning Queens, Cowboys and Indians, the Ads portfolio, and the late Cars and Endangered Species series. Each body of work reflects his obsessive engagement with repetition, celebrity, and commodity culture.

The market benchmark for Warhol was set in May 2022 when Shot Sage Blue Marilyn (1964) sold at Christie's New York for $195 million — the highest price ever achieved at auction for an American artwork. Recent print sales confirm sustained institutional demand: Mao editions achieved $4,648,000 each at Christie's in May 2025; Flowers editions achieved $4,076,000 and $3,832,000 at Sotheby's in the same season.

Andy Warhol Paintings For Sale

Andy Warhol paintings for sale — unique acrylics and silkscreens on canvas — represent the rarest and most valuable tier of his output. Subjects produced in multiple unique variations include Flowers, Skulls, Shadows, Dollar Signs, and the late Oxidation Paintings. The Rorschach series (1984) and Camouflage works appeal strongly to institutional collectors. Abstract Expressionism paintings from the late 1970s and early 1980s remain undervalued relative to his iconic print series and represent a compelling collecting opportunity.

Andy Warhol paintings require substantial documentation: exhibition history, gallery receipts, and provenance tracing to The Factory or first-generation dealers. Prices range from mid-five figures for works on paper to eight figures for major canvas paintings. Our team can advise on current pricing and condition assessment across all painting categories.

Andy Warhol Prints For Sale

Warhol's screenprints represent the most accessible and widely collected segment of his output. Andy Warhol prints for sale range from early unsigned offset lithographs to hand-signed, numbered editions produced with Castelli Graphics, Factory Editions, and Ronald Feldman Fine Arts. Signed, numbered editions from key series — Marilyn Monroe (1967), Flowers (1970), Mao (1972), Ads (1985), Endangered Species (1983), Cowboys and Indians (1986), and Reigning Queens (1985) — command the strongest collector demand and the deepest secondary market liquidity.

Condition, provenance, and edition size are the critical variables. Works printed on Lenox Museum Board or high-grade rag paper with consistent registration and original colouration are the most desirable. Fading, foxing, or retouching materially affects value.

Andy Warhol Cars Prints For Sale

The Cars portfolio (F.S. II.356–362), produced in 1985 as a commission from Mercedes-Benz to mark the centenary of the automobile, stands among the most refined of Warhol's late print series. Ten screenprints on Lenox Museum Board render historic Mercedes-Benz models in Warhol's characteristic flat colour and photographic silkscreen technique — his iconic commercial sensibility applied to the history of industrial design. Signed and numbered in editions of 100, with separate artist's proofs, the Cars series regularly achieves $25,000–$75,000 per impression and commands significant premiums when offered as complete portfolios.

Andy Warhol Late Paintings and Works on Paper

Warhol's production in the final decade of his life — broadly 1978 to 1987 — encompasses some of his most conceptually ambitious work. The Knives series (1981–82), Guns series (1981–82), and Crosses (1981–82) form a trilogy of loaded American objects rendered in the same neutral Pop vocabulary he had applied to Soup Cans twenty years earlier. The Boots and Dollar Bills paintings sit alongside late unique canvases from the Camouflage series (1986–87) and the haunting Last Supper paintings completed weeks before his death. Works from this period are systematically underrepresented in collector awareness relative to their importance to the broader catalogue and represent genuine long-term collecting opportunities.

Andy Warhol Self Portrait Prints For Sale

Andy Warhol self portrait prints are among the most sought-after works in his catalogue — a subject he returned to from 1966 to 1986. The most collected examples include:

  • Self Portrait F.S. II.7 (1966) — the iconic fist-to-chin composition in vivid Pop colourways
  • Self Portrait F.S. II.12–22 (1978) — nine large-format prints; auction results regularly $80,000–$250,000
  • Self Portrait with Fright Wig (1986) — produced a year before his death; widely regarded as his definitive late statement
  • Camouflage Self Portrait F.S. II.316 (1986) — the artist dissolved into his own imagery

Self portrait prices range from $18,000 for early unsigned screenprints to $400,000+ for the 1978 and 1986 signed works in excellent condition. Authentication requires reference to the Feldman & Schellmann catalogue raisonné and, where applicable, a former Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board certificate.

Sell Andy Warhol Prints — Free Valuation

Guy Hepner actively acquires Andy Warhol prints, paintings, and unique works from private collections. If you are looking to sell Warhol prints or seeking a current market valuation, contact our New York gallery for a confidential, no-obligation assessment. We handle all series including Marilyn, Mao, Flowers, Ads, Cowboys and Indians, Myths, Reigning Queens, and late works. Our team can advise on the most appropriate route to market and current secondary market pricing.

Interested in adding Andy Warhol to your collection? Contact our team to discuss available inventory, provenance documentation, and pricing guidance tailored to your collecting goals.

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