A piece of Andy Warhol's real estate past has quietly disappeared

By Virginia K. Smith | October 27, 2015 - 12:59PM

Plenty of New Yorkers would bend over backwards for the 15 minutes of fame that a link to Andy Warhol confers. But apparently, not everyone feels the same way.

The New York Daily News reports that the latest owners of Warhol's former townhouse at 1342 Lexington Avenue have taken down the longstanding sign out front (pictured above) marking the place as "The Warhol."

The paper was tipped off to the change by former friends of Warhol, one of whom told the paper, "It is always sad when time moves on. But people who inherit things can't always afford to keep them, especially if they must share among family members."

Counterpoint? Another anonymous friend told the Daily News, "It's just a sign." (Interestingly enough, one famous Warhol quote could very well apply to real estate these days: "I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want to own.")

Still, it seems surprising to us that any savvy real estate investor would shy away from a Warhol connection.

Indeed, its most recent listing plays up the connection with details, trumpeting that "the famed artist lived /worked in this house for 15 years and this is where he painted some of his most iconic works of art including the Campbell's Soup Can and Dollar Bill paintings."

What do you think? Would you want to show off your home's celebrity-related claim to fame, or keep it squarely out of the spotlight?

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