''Coca-Cola 3'' is a painting by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

. He completed the painting in 1962 as a wider series on

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

paintings, which also included ''

Green Coca-Cola Bottles ''Green Coca-Cola Bottles'' is a 1962 painting by Andy Warhol that depicts one hundred and twelve almost identical Coca-Cola bottles. Andy Warhol produced at least four notable Coca-Cola paintings in the 1960s, with ''Green Coca-Cola Bottles'' ...

'' and ''

Coca-Cola (4) ''Coca-Cola (4)'', also known as ''Large Coca-Cola'', is a pop art painting by Andy Warhol. He completed the painting in 1962 as a part of a wider collection of Coca-Cola themed paintings, including ''Coca-Cola (3)'' and ''Green Coca-Cola Bottle ...

''. The painting and others in the series are considered founding paintings of the pop art movement. The painting is a 6-foot, black and white painting of a

bottle from the era.

Ownership

In 2013, it was announced that the artwork would be put up for sale by the Mugrabi family, one of the largest collectors of

art. They had bought the painting two decades earlier, rumored to be from a billionaire collector. It was sold by the Mugrabi family for $57.3 million USD at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

in 2013. The current owner of the painting is not listed.

Origin and painting

Warhol is best known for his famous Campbells soup cans which was completed around the same time as ''Coca-Cola(3)'', between 1961 and 1962. Campbell’s soup cans share the idea of the commercial culture of Warhol’s Coca-Cola series. Warhol first began working with

bottles in the early 1950s when he would use images of Coke bottles from magazines to create collages. Warhol had a unique perspective and interest on coke bottles. Warhol would state that “A Coke is a Coke, and no amount of money can get you a better Coke.”, alluding to the idea of economic and political equality. Some of his most famous works focus on mass-produced items, such as soup cans and coke bottles, products that consistently remained the same quality, no matter how much you paid for it. Warhol was attracted to the idea that no matter who you are, you cannot purchase a better coke or can of soup than the next person. Ultimately, Warhol admired the uniformity of items such as soup cans and coke bottles. Warhol’s first Stable show featured three known serial works of one hundred soups cans, one hundred dollar bills and one hundred coke bottles. Between 1960 and 1960 Warhol created two versions of ''Coca-Cola (3)''. They were very similar to each other, however, one featured a large dark splotch on the top right corner of the canvas. In his career, Warhol created 15 pieces associated to

References

{{Andy Warhol 1962 paintings Coca-Cola in popular culture Paintings by Andy Warhol