Merce Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other disciplines, including musicians, graphic artists, and fashion designer. Works that he produced with these artists had a profound impact on avant-garde art beyond the world of dance. As a choreographer, teacher, and leader of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Cunningham had a profound influence on modern dance. Many dancers who trained with Cunningham formed their own companies. Cunningham earned some of the highest honors bestowed in the arts, including the National Medal of Arts and the MacArthur Fellowship in the US.

In collaboration with his partner, the musician John Cage, he created ground-breaking dance performances in which there were no restrictions on movement. In New York, where he lived from the early 1940s onwards, he cultivated close contacts with the avant-garde; many of his stage designs were created by Robert Rauschenberg, for instance, and he also found his way into Andy Warhol’s work.

The lightness and elegance of Cunningham is represented in this work through Warhol’s ability to create stillness in a pose that elicits motion. This particular print shows Cunningham balancing at an angle, holding a chair to his back. The print is embellished with a somewhat retro floral pattern over the dancer, which completely obscures his facial features.

Merce Cunningham I

Merce Cunningham II

Merce Cunningham I (F&S II.124)

Merce Cunningham I

Medium: Screenprint on Japanese gift wrapping paper
Year: 1974
Sheet: 30×20 inches (76.2 x 50.8 cm)
Edition: 100
Artist’s Proofs: 30 AP
Printer’s Proofs: 3 PP
Hors Commerce: 5 HC
Trial Proofs: 4 printed on Cockerell paper (blue, grey, green and red)
Publisher:  Castelli Graphics and Multiples, Inc., New-York
Published in the portfolio Cunningham I, containing works by 7 artists to raise funds for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, New-York
Printer: Alexander Heinrici, New-York
Literature: Feldman & Schellmann II.124

Signed and numbered in pencil on verso with the artist copyright inkstamp on the reverse

 

Auction Results

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Heritage Auctions: 16 October 2025
Estimated: USD 6,000 – 8,000
USD 11,250

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Merce Cunningham (Feldman & Schellmann, II.124), 1974
From Merce Cunningham
Screenprint on Japanese gift wrapping paper
A.P. 20/30 (aside from an edition of 100)
Signed and editioned in pencil along verso lower edge

Rago: 15 October 2025
Estimated: USD 7,000 – 9,000
USD 7,620

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Merce Cunningham I (Feldman/Schellmann II.124),1974
From the Cunningham I portfolio

Screenprint on Japanese gift wrapping paper

Signed and numbered to verso ‘Andy Warhol 77/100’

LA Modern: 3 September 2025

Estimated: USD 8,000 – 12,000
USD 10,560

Sotheby’s New-York: 15 December 2023
Estimated: USD 10,000 – 15,000
USD 6,985

ANDY WARHOL (1928 – 1987)
Merce Cunningham I, 1974
Screenprint on Japanese gift wrapping paper
Signed in pencil and numbered 87/100 (on the verso)

Phillips New-York: 20 April 2023
Estimated: USD 6,000 – 9,000
USD 9,525

Bonhams New-York: 12 May 2022
Estimated: USD 12,000 – 18,000
USD 15,300

Phillips New-York: 24 July 2020
Estimated: USD 5,000 – 7,000
USD 11,875

Merce Cunningham II (F&S II.125)

Merce Cunningham II

Medium: Screenprint on Japanese gift wrapping paper
Year: 1979
Sheet: 30×20 inches (76.2 x 50.8 cm)
Edition: 25
Publisher: Multiples, Inc., New-York
Printer: Rupert Jasen Smith, New-York
Literature: Feldman & Schellmann II.125

Signed, numbered and dated in pencil on verso with the artist copyright inkstamp on the reverse

Auction Results

Koller Zurich: 1 July 2021
Estimated: CHF 16,000 – 20,000
CHF 19,820 / USD 21,405

ANDY WARHOL (Pittsburgh 1928–1987 New York)
Merce Cunningham II (Feldman/Schellmann, no. II.125), 1979
Color screenprint on Japan gift wrapping paper
Signed, numbered 17/25 and dated in pencil on the reverse: Andy Warhol 1979 ©