Published in 1972, Andy Warhol’s Sunset series was commissioned by the architects Johnson & Burgee for their new Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis. This was just one of several projects between the firm’s partner Philip Johnson and Warhol, Johnson being a long-term collector and friend of the artist.

Introduction

In contrast to the architecture’s highly geometric and functional aesthetic, Warhol’s colorful screenprints vibrantly decorated each guest room, with a vast 472 impressions installed for the opening. A massive undertaking, the total project encompassed 632 unique color impressions, with 160 pieces set aside and assembled into 40 portfolios of four. As such, this series is one of Warhol’s most ambitious editions, encapsulating his experimental approach and mastery of color – no two pieces the same. This work is one of the 160 prints held aside for the unique portfolios. The 472 prints from the hotel are differentiated by the additional ink stamp on the reverse, “Hotel Marquette Prints”, designating their history in this cutting-edge 1970’s hotel. Less than a decade later in 1981, the hotel underwent a renovation and the Sunset prints were all removed from the rooms and returned to Warhol.

Beach Sunset, circa 1980, Unique polaroid print

Each print was comprised only three screens, bright shades of ink blending to form an ombre sky, and a colorful and harmonious oscillation surrounding the central sun. Employing color to transcend naturalistic representation, the vibrancy of the Sunset series reflects Warhol’s mastery of color theory and his adept application of the screenprint medium, essential in creating such a sizeable, unique edition with only three layers of ink. The source for the series was not appropriated from popular culture, but reworked from an unfinished film started by Warhol five years prior. In his 1967 Sunset film, commissioned by the de Menil Family for the Rothko Chapel, Warhol captured sunsets across America, as a meditation on temporality and quotidian phenomena. Never satisfied by his sunset shots, Warhol left the project unfinished, instead translating the iconography into an edition that seeks to capture the unique illumination of each day’s end. Such fixation on the ephemerality of sunsets is reminiscent on Claude Monet’s Haystacks series of paintings, the French artist similarly repeating the same subject with the ambition of expressing the transcience of natural light.

Claude Monet, Grainstack, Sun in the Mist, 1891, Minneapolis Institute of Art. Image: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton, The Putnam Dana McMillan Fund, The John R. Van Derlip Fund, The William Hood Dunwoody Fund, The Ethel Morrison Van Derlip Fund, Alfred and Ingrid Lenz Harrison, and Mary Joann and James R. Jundt

In the mid-1960s John and Dominique de Menil commissioned Andy Warhol to produce a film of spiritual significance for a proposed ecumenical chapel at the 1968 San Antonio World’s Fair. Subsequently, Warhol recorded on 16mm film over the course of 33 minutes a sunset over the Pacific Ocean in California. The real-time footage features the deep voice of Velvet Underground singer Nico reading poetry off-screen and shows the slow and colorful shift of atmospheric light at dusk as the sun fades into the horizon.

Andy Warhol, **** (Four Stars) reel 77 – “Sunset,“ 1967. 16mm film, color, sound, 33 minutes © The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, a museum of Carnegie Institute. All rights reserved. Film still courtesy The Andy Warhol Museum

A still from the film is widely considered to be the source image for Warhol’s 1972 eponymous series of screenprints designed for famed architects Johnson & Burgee’s project the Hotel Marquette Minneapolis, Minnesota. When the hotel was renovated in 1981, the prints were returned to Warhol to be signed, numbered and stamped ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS.’

Warhol ultimately printed 632 distinct Sunset screenprints, 472 of which were used in the hotel rooms and 160 assembled into 40 unique portfolios of four prints. All prints used three screens — one to apply the background bands of color, one for the sun itself and one with a single-color dot pattern.

Two portfolios of Sunset, 1972 at the Whitney Museum, New-York

Although each print is unique, Sunset marks Warhol’s first portfolio wherein the prints are numbered and assembled as standard edition prints. Pushing the traditional boundaries for editioned prints and blurring the lines between his unique material and his printed editions, the Sunset series is widely considered to be one of Warhol’s most expressive projects.

Sunset, 1972

Sunset

Medium: Screenprint on smooth wove paper
Year: 1972
Sheet: 34×34 inches (86.4 x 86.4 cm)
Edition: 632 unique prints signed and numbered on verso
40 portfolios containing four prints each
The remaining 472 prints were used by architects Johnson & Burgee for the hotel Marquette, Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1981, upon removal from the hotel, these prints were signed, numbered 1/470 to 470/470, and dated in pencil on verso, and two were marked HC. They were all stamped in black on verso Hotel Marquette Prints
Publisher: David Whitney, New-York
Printer: Salvatore Silkscreen Co., Inc., New York
Literature: Feldman & Schellman II.85-88

Record Breakers

Christie’s New-York: 16 April 2025
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 277,200
NEW AUCTION RECORD FOR SUNSET

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed and dated in pencil on the reverse, numbered 353⁄470
(the total edition was 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 16 April 2025
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 214,200

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed and dated in pencil on the reverse, numbered 462⁄470
(the total edition was 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 16 April 2025
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 201,600

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed, dated and dedicated ‘Happy Birthday Tommy / love Andy’ in pencil on the reverse
Numbered 283⁄470 (the total edition was 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 16 April 2025
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 201,600

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed and dated in pencil on the reverse, numbered 291⁄470
(the total edition was 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 16 April 2025
Estimated: USD 70,000 – 100,000
USD 201,600

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed and dated in pencil on the reverse, numbered 14⁄470
(the total edition was 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

USD 200,000

Phillips New-York: 26 October 2023
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 190,500

Christie’s New-York: 20 April 2023
Estimated: USD 80,000 – 120,000
USD 189,000

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset, 1972
Unique screen-print in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed and dated in pencil on the reverse
Numbered 94/470 (the total edition was 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Phillips New-York: 26 October 2023
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 177,800

Christie’s London: 1 April 2021
Estimated: GBP 50,000 – 70,000
GBP 118,750 / USD 164,280

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset, 1972
Unique screen-print in colors
Signed, dated and numbered 344/470 in pencil on the reverse
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 15 April 2021
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 162,500

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset, 1972
Unique screen-print in colors
Signed, dated and numbered 465/470 in pencil on the reverse
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 15 April 2021
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 156,250

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset, 1972
Unique screen-print in colors
Signed, dated and numbered 319/470 in pencil on the reverse
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

2025 Auction Results

Phillips New-York: 21 October 2025
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 180,600

Larsen Art Auction: 18 October 2025
Estimated: USD 80,000 – 100,000
USD 120,000 (Hammer)
USD 146,400

ANDY WARHOL (American 1928-1987)
Sunset (F&S.II.185-188), 1972
Unique screenprint on smooth wove paper
Editioned 213 of 470
Signed and dated in pencil Andy Warhol © 1972, verso
Hotel Marquette Prints stamp, verso
Lot includes a copy of a letter from Lesch Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Enclosing a copy of a letter of authenticity dated March 16, 1981 from the Andy Warhol Studio, New York
From a total edition of 632 unique prints
Which included the edition of 470 plus 2 Hors de Commerce proofs and 40 portfolios of 4 prints each
After the portfolios were arranged
The remaining 472 prints were used by architects Johnson & Burgee for the Hotel Marquette, Minneapolis
Stamped by the hotel and signed, numbered, and dated by Warhol upon their removal from the hotel in 1981

Bonhams Cornette: 27 May 2025
Estimated: EUR 40,000 – 60,000
EUR 51,200 / USD 57,855

Christie’s New-York: 16 April 2025
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 277,200
NEW AUCTION RECORD FOR SUNSET

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed and dated in pencil on the reverse, numbered 353⁄470
(the total edition was 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 16 April 2025
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 201,600

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed, dated and dedicated ‘Happy Birthday Tommy / love Andy’ in pencil on the reverse
Numbered 283⁄470 (the total edition was 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 16 April 2025
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 214,200

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed and dated in pencil on the reverse, numbered 462⁄470
(the total edition was 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 16 April 2025
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 201,600

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed and dated in pencil on the reverse, numbered 291⁄470
(the total edition was 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 16 April 2025
Estimated: USD 70,000 – 100,000
USD 201,600

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed and dated in pencil on the reverse, numbered 14⁄470
(the total edition was 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 16 April 2025
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 138,600

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on wove paper
A trial proof aside from the edition of 632 unique impressions
Stamped with the Estate of Andy Warhol and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. stamps
Annotated 041 UT.008 in pencil on the reverse

Sotheby’s New-York: 15 April 2025
Estimated: USD 70,000 – 100,000
USD 76,200

ANDY WARHOL (1928 – 1987)
Sunset (See Feldman & Schellmann IIA.85 – 88), 1972
Screenprint in a unique color combination on wove paper
Signed in pencil on the verso, dated and numbered 88/470
This impression is number 88 from the total edition of 632 unique impressions
One of 472 impressions used by architects Johnson & Burgee for the Hotel Marquette, Minneapolis
With the Hotel Marquette Prints inkstamp on the verso

2024 Auction Results

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset (F & S.II.85-88), 1972
Screenprint
From the edition of 470
Signed, dated and ed. on verso, with a stamp “HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS”

Mainichi: 27 April 2024
Estimated: JPY 8,000,000 – 13,000,000
JPY 9,200,000 / USD 58,137

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset (F & S.II.85-88), 1972
Screenprint
From the edition of 470
Signed, dated and ed. on verso, with a stamp “HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS”

Sotheby’s online: 20 March 2024
Estimated: GBP 70,000 – 90,000
GBP 107,950 / USD 137,097

ANDY WARHOL (1928 – 1987)
Sunset, 1972
Screenprint in a unique color combination on wove paper
Signed in pencil verso, dated and numbered 223/470
This impression is number 223 from the total edition of 632 unique impressions
One of 472 impressions used by architects Johnson & Burgee for the Hotel Marquette, Minneapolis
With the Hotel Marquette Prints inkstamp verso

Sotheby’s New-York: 4 March 2024
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 30,480

ANDY WARHOL (1928 – 1987)
Sunset (see F. & S. IIA.85-88), 1972
Screenprint in a unique color combination on wove paper
This impression is an unsigned proof aside from the edition of 632 unique impressions

Sotheby’s New-York: 4 March 2024
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 69,850

ANDY WARHOL (1928 – 1987)
Sunset (see F. & S. IIA.85-88), 1972
Screenprint in a unique color combination on wove paper
This impression is an unsigned proof aside from the edition of 632 unique impressions

2023 Auction Results

Phillips New-York: 26 October 2023
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 190,500

Phillips New-York: 26 October 2023
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 177,800

Phillips New-York: 26 October 2023
Estimated: USD 100,000 – 150,000
USD 127,000

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset, 1972
Screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Pencil-signed, dated and numbered 5/40 verso
From an edition of 632 unique impressions

Christie’s New-York: 20 April 2023
Estimated: USD 80,000 – 120,000
USD 189,000

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset, 1972
Unique screen-print in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed and dated in pencil on the reverse
Numbered 94/470 (the total edition was 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Phillips New-York: 20 April 2023
Estimated: USD 80,000 – 120,000
USD 190,500

Sotheby’s New-York: 28 October 2022
Estimated: USD 80,000 – 120,000
USD 119,700

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset, 1972
Screen-print in a unique color combination on wove paper
Signed in pencil on the verso, dated and numbered 43/470

Sotheby’s New-York: 28 October 2022
Estimated: USD 80,000 – 120,000
USD 126,000

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset, 1972
Screen-print in a unique color combination on wove paper
Signed in pencil on the verso, dated and numbered 92/470

Mainichi Auction: 16 July 2022
Estimated: JPY 7,000,000 – 10,000,000
JPY 9,500,000 (Hammer)
JPY 12,350,000 / USD 89,165

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset (F & S.II.85-88), 1972
Screenprint
Signed, dated and editioned with a stamp “HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS” on verso
From the edition of 470

2021 Auction Results

Van Ham: 1 December 2021
Estimated: EUR 40,000
EUR 112,200 / USD 126,945

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset, 1972
Screenprint in colors
Signed, dated and numbered 12/40 on verso

Christie’s New-York: 21 October 2021
Estimated: USD 70,000 – 100,000
USD 118,750

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset, 1972
Unique screen-print in colors
Signed, dated and numbered 66/470 in pencil on the reverse
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 21 October 2021
Estimated: USD 70,000 – 100,000
USD 125,000

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset, 1972
Unique screen-print in colors
Signed, dated and numbered 52/470 in pencil on the reverse
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Sotheby’s New-York: 23 July 2021
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 151,200

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset, 1972
Unique screen-print in colors
Signed, dated and numbered 46/470 in pencil on the reverse
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 15 April 2021
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 162,500

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset, 1972
Unique screen-print in colors
Signed, dated and numbered 465/470 in pencil on the reverse
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 15 April 2021
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 156,250

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset, 1972
Unique screen-print in colors
Signed, dated and numbered 319/470 in pencil on the reverse
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s London: 1 April 2021
Estimated: GBP 50,000 – 70,000
GBP 118,750 / USD 164,280

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset, 1972
Unique screen-print in colors
Signed, dated and numbered 344/470 in pencil on the reverse
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

Christie’s London: 1 April 2021
Estimated: GBP 50,000 – 70,000
GBP 106,250 / USD 146,985

ANDY WARHOL
Sunset, 1972
Unique screen-print in colors
Signed, dated and numbered 384/470 in pencil on the reverse
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ ink stamp on the reverse

2020 & Prior Years Auction Results

WORK IN PROGRESS

Sotheby’s New-York: 28 April 2020
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 112,500

ANDY WARHOL (1928 – 1987)
SUNSET (SEE FELDMAN & SCHELLMANN II.85-88), 1972
Screenprint in a unique color combination on wove paper
Signed in pencil, dated and numbered 18/40
From the total edition of 632 unique impressions

Christie’s New-York: 18 April 2019
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 75,000

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (see Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed, dated and numbered 317/470 in pencil on the reverse
(from the edition of 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ inkstamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 18 April 2019
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 75,000

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (see Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed, dated and numbered 306/470 in pencil on the reverse
(from the edition of 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ inkstamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 18 April 2019
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 68,750

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (see Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed, dated and numbered 313/470 in pencil on the reverse
(from the edition of 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ inkstamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 18 April 2019
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 60,000

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (see Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed, dated and numbered 170/470 in pencil on the reverse
(from the edition of 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ inkstamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 18 April 2019
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 93,750

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (see Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed, dated and numbered 294/470 in pencil on the reverse
(from the edition of 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ inkstamp on the reverse

Christie’s New-York: 18 April 2019
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 87,500

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Sunset (see Feldman & Schellmann II.85-88), 1972
Unique screenprint in colors on smooth wove paper
Signed, dated and numbered 274/470 in pencil on the reverse
(from the edition of 632 unique impressions)
With the ‘HOTEL MARQUETTE PRINTS’ inkstamp on the reverse