Ethel Scull 36 Times

Ethel Scull 36 Times
Artist	Andy Warhol
Year	1963
Type	Acrylic paint and silk screen ink on canvas
Dimensions	80 by 144 inches (200 cm × 370 cm)
Location	Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY

Ethel Scull 36 Times is a 1963 painting by American artist Andy Warhol, is currently on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art and is part of the collections of both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. It was Warhol's first commissioned work. The work consists of four rows of nine equal columns, depicting Ethel Redner Scull, a well-known collector of modern art. The artwork is jointly owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Ethel Scull (née Redner) was born in The Bronx, New York City in 1921. Her father was a wealthy taxi company owner.

Robert Scull was born in New York City to Russian immigrant parents who had anglicized their family name from Sokolnikoff. His childhood was spent in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His interest in modern art began when he visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a ten-year-old boy.

Ethel Redner met Robert Scull, who was then a freelance illustrator, when she was studying at Parsons School of Design. They married in 1944. When Ethel's father retired, he distributed shares of his business to his three sons-in-law. Robert Scull was one of the beneficiaries, and built up a prosperous business.

Robert Scull bought every work in Jasper Johns' first exhibition.Ethel Scull 36 Times was Robert Scull's present to Ethel Scull on her 42nd birthday. Once questioned by an interviewer regarding accusations that he and his wife bought art for investment and for social climbing, Robert Scull replied: "It's all true. I'd rather use art to climb than anything else." The summit of this social ascension was Ethel Scull's shaming introduction to the Duke of Windsor: she remained seated, merely raising her hand to be taken.

...
Wikipedia