Andy Warhol's Adventures in China Captured in Photographs Now Up for Auction

Andy Warhol's China Adventure in Photographs

‘Andy Warhol’ (Image courtesy of Phillips/Phillips.com)

In 1982, famed pop artist Andy Warhol ventured to China and Hong Kong—and luckily, he brought along his camera. Snapping over 200 photographs of his time in the Far East, Warhol had an astute eye for everything from the main tourist traps (The Great Wall) to the mundane (random street scenes and portraits).

The photos were taken, for the most part, by Warhol himself, separating them from a group taken by Christopher Makos, Warhol’s personal photographer who joined him (and a few others) on the trip.

According to CNN, the cache, entitled Warhol in China, is set for auction via Phillips auction house in Hong Kong on May 28, and could realize $1.1 million for the lot.

‘Statue of Mao and Building’ (Image courtesy of Phillips/Phillips.com)

What’s particularly fascinating about the collection, notes CNN, is how “normal” the trip appears to have been for the art world idol; at the time, Warhol was a huge celebrity in America, but from the looks of it, the Chinese people he shot have no idea who he was. (At the time, Beijing was also largely cordoned off from Western travelers.)

The photos are currently being exhibited at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong through May 2, coinciding with the kickoff of Art Basel Hong Kong.

For more on the lot, click here. Take a look at more of Warhol’s photographs below. At the bottom, watch a short video about Warhol’s trip to China.