Andy Warhol’s Lost Digital Art Sold for $26 Million

Jeff Bruette had no idea who Andy Warhol was when his employer, Commodore Computers, asked him to teach the artist how to use the computer graphics software used on its Amiga computers.

In 1985, Amiga Computers asked Warhol to create several works for a company promotional event at Lincoln Center, where thousands of people would see the artist’s work live. The original files from the rehearsal sessions preceding the event, stored on a long-lost floppy disk, have been found and are now being sold for $26 million in a private sale.

The files contain ten digital works, one of which is a portrait of Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry. The files will be sold alongside eight paintings Warhol created for Amiga World Magazine for its cover story. “I’ve actually had them for a while, but I had no idea they were interesting or valuable,” Bruette says Statute. So how did he get it?

As mentioned earlier, Bruette was assigned to teach Warhol how to use Amiga software, unaware of the artist’s fame. He ended up teaching Warhol the basics of computer operation: “I would teach him the right and left buttons, we would break for lunch, and he would forget about it again,” Bruette said.

During the test sessions, Warhol’s entourage milled around the studio. Then Debbie Harry came along. “I still had no idea who Warhol was, but I definitely knew who Debbie was,” Bruette said. She showed up in a sequined dress, he says, and became one of the subjects of the project. “In retrospect, it’s amazing how his original screen printing works and how his techniques are transferred to the computer. It’s a very impressive crossover.”

At the end of the practice sessions, Bruette saved the files, thinking Warhol might want them as souvenirs. He didn’t; instead, he told Bruette he could keep them, signed them, and left them in the hands of his computer science teacher. Interestingly, Warhol’s work for the Amiga promotion looked different from the rehearsals, and he even wrote in his journal, “…the drawing came out terrible…it was a real mess.”

The collection for sale has been appraised and authenticated by Noah Bolanowski, digital art historian and collector relations manager. extended.art.“My investigation revealed a strong chain of provenance, including historical documentation, third-party accounts, video recordings, and dozens of candid photographs, which led me to authenticate this collection, presenting these works as an authentic contribution to both the artist’s legacy and the history of digital art,” Bolanowski said in a press release.

The artwork is being sold by private dealer Kenneth Mitchell. For more information, visit digitalandyart.com.

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