Turtle

Medium: Screenprint on Lenox Museum Board
Year: 1985
Sheet: 30 1/2 x 39 3/8 inches (80×100 cm)
Edition: 250
Artist’s Proofs: 50 AP
Printer’s Proofs: 10 PP
Bon a Tirer: 2 BAT
Trial Proofs: 10 TP
Printer: Rupert Jasen Smith, New-York
Publisher: CBS, Inc., Los Angeles, California
Published to coincide with the 1985 film Turtle Diary written by Harold Pinter
Literature: Feldman & Schellmann II.360A

Signed and numbered in pencil lower right
With the printer’s blindstamp and the artist’s copyright stamp on the reverse

 

Captivity, loneliness, the monotonous everyday… but also liberation, discovery, and rekindling the joys of life and love: these are the themes running through CBS’s 1985 film Turtle Diary. Penned by the renowned playwright Harold Pinter, this romantic comedy follows two strangers who are both struck by the majestic sea turtles at London Zoo. The pair form an unlikely bond, united by their shared compassion for the turtles and a longing for their freedom. They soon hatch a plan to steal two of the turtles and release them into the ocean. The star-studded cast, including Glenda Jackson, Ben Kingsley, and Michael Gambon, was bolstered by Andy Warhol – a celebrity in his own right – who was commissioned to create a screenprint edition to promote the film. In Turtle, Warhol captured the climactic moment in which the turtles are set free, rendering it in his signature Pop Art aesthetic. In vivid hues of turquoise, blue and pink, the image captures the joy of this momentous scene, as well as evoking wider themes of freedom and the wonder of nature.

Delighted by the film and the resulting Turtle screenprint, Warhol expressed his gratitude in particular to the film’s director, John Irvin by gifting him the present lot in 1986 in thanks for his role in the commission. No stranger to interpreting the work of great writers, Irvin began his career by directing a number of award-winning documentaries and television works, including the hugely successful BBC adaptation of John le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, starring Alec Guinness. For the next thirty years, Irvin made Hollywood feature films including Dogs of War (1980) starring Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger, followed by the horror film Ghost Story (1981) starring Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and John Houseman; and the biographical Champions (1984) starring John Hurt. Following these serious subject matters, Turtle Diary gave Irvin the chance to flex his comedic muscles and revel in the joyful storyline of love, freedom and a passionate celebration of the natural world. Irvin’s enthusiasm in directing this story is echoed in the immense success the film enjoyed, and in the exuberant and detailed depiction of the film’s protagonist in Warhol’s saturated, colorful screenprint.

Poster for Turtle Diary, 1985. Image: Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock Photo

Warhol’s deep-rooted love of nature traces back to his childhood, where he found solace in drawing animals, tending to a flower garden and, during university, frequenting the zoo to sketch animals. In adulthood, he purchased large plots of land, including a 15-acre beach in Long Island that has since been gifted to the The Nature Conservancy and is protected as The Andy Warhol Preserve.

“I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art
that anybody could ever want.”

Within the broader spectrum of Andy Warhol’s oeuvre, Turtle finds resonance with his Endangered Species series created two years earlier. Similarly to Turtle, in this body of work Warhol turned his iconic pop sensibility toward the natural world, showcasing the lively nobility of ten animals listed in the Endangered Species Act of 1973, such as the African Elephant, Siberian Tiger, and San Francisco Silverspot Butterfly. By placing these animals in the same spotlight he often reserved for celebrities, Warhol helped raise awareness of these endangered animals and raise funds for conservation. His strong affinity for animals is felt in Turtle, which captures the majesty of this ancient sea creature and presents it in its natural habitat, as opposed to captivity.

Source: Phillips

 

 

 

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Auction Results

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Santa Monica Auctions: 25 January 2025
Estimated: USD 80,000 – 100,000
USD 70,000 (Hammer)
USD 92,400 (BP @ 32%)

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Turtle (From the Endangered Species Series), 1985
Screenprint on Lenox Museum Board
From the numbered edition of 250, 50 Artist’s Proofs, 10 Printer’s Proofs, 2 BAT, 10 Trial Proof
Signed/numbered in pencil on recto

Christie’s online: 17 July 2025
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 94,500

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Turtle (Feldman & Schellmann II.360A), 1985
Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil, numbered ‘AP 35/50’
An artist’s proof, the edition was 250

Mallet Auction: 17 July 2025
Estimated: JPY 5,000,000 – 7,000,000
JPY 10,500,000 (Hammer)
JPY 12,232,500 / USD 82,205

ANDY WARHOL
Turtle, 1985
Screenprint
Signed in pencil
Numbered 75/250

Cowley Abbott: 28 May 2025
Estimated: CAD 60,000 – 80,000
CAD 114,000 / USD 82,485

ANDY WARHOL
Turtle (F&S II.360A), 1985
Color screenprint on Lenox Museum Board
Signed and numbered 248/250 lower right
Titled and numbered on a label on the reverse
Published by CBS, Inc., Los Angeles, California

Christie’s New-York: 16 April 2025
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 107,100

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Turtle (Feldman & Schellmann II.360A), 1985
Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil, numbered 195⁄250
(there were also 50 artist’s proofs)

Sotheby’s New-York: 15 April 2025
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 82,550

ANDY WARHOL (1928 – 1987)
Turtle (Feldman & Schellmann II.360A), 1985
Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil and numbered 157/250

Sotheby’s New-York: 22 October 2024
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 90,000

ANDY WARHOL (1928 – 1987)
Turtle (Feldman & Schellmann II.360A), 1985
Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Sheet: 31 1/2 x 39 3/8 inches (80×100 cm)
Signed in pencil and numbered 139/250

Phillips London: 6 June 2024
Estimated: GBP 40,000 – 60,000
GBP 69,850 / USD 89,059

 

Phillips New-York: 16 April 2024
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 107,950
AUCTION RECORD FOR TURTLE

ANDY WARHOL
Turtle (F. & S. 360A), 1985
Screenprint in colors, on Lenox Museum Board, the full sheet.
Signed and numbered 37/250 in pencil

Phillips New-York: 26 October 2023
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 101,600

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Turtle, 1985
Screen-print in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil, numbered 84/250

Doyle: 26 October 2022
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 87,500

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
TURTLE (FELDMAN/SCHELLMAN II.360A), 1985
Color screenprint on Lenox Museum Board
Signed and numbered 242/250 in pencil

Phillips New-York: 22 April 2021
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 75,600