The Market's Most Wanted 2023

Cats
Named Sam

Created before fame, in 1954, and inspired by his mother’s 25 cats, Andy Warhol created a children’s book containing 16 lithographs, accompanied by his mother’s calligraphy, and hand-coloured. The book itself is extremely rare but the individual print series testifies to Warhol’s early love of bold, block colour.

Andy Warhol prints for sale

Cats Named Sam (complete set) - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam (complete set) 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£70,000-£110,000Value Indicator

$130,000-$210,000 Value Indicator

$120,000-$190,000 Value Indicator

¥630,000-¥990,000 Value Indicator

80,000-130,000 Value Indicator

$690,000-$1,080,000 Value Indicator

¥12,690,000-¥19,940,000 Value Indicator

$90,000-$140,000 Value Indicator

8% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

4 in network
Cats Named Sam IV 51 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 51 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£6,000-£8,500Value Indicator

$11,500-$16,000 Value Indicator

$10,500-$14,500 Value Indicator

¥50,000-¥80,000 Value Indicator

7,000-10,000 Value Indicator

$60,000-$80,000 Value Indicator

¥1,090,000-¥1,540,000 Value Indicator

$7,500-$10,500 Value Indicator

-5% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

3 in network
4 want this
Cats Named Sam IV 59 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 59 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£6,500-£9,500Value Indicator

$12,500-$18,000 Value Indicator

$11,000-$16,000 Value Indicator

¥60,000-¥90,000 Value Indicator

7,500-11,000 Value Indicator

$60,000-$90,000 Value Indicator

¥1,180,000-¥1,720,000 Value Indicator

$8,000-$12,000 Value Indicator

-4% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

2 in network
2 want this
Cats Named Sam IV 68 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 68 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£6,500-£9,500Value Indicator

$12,500-$18,000 Value Indicator

$11,000-$16,000 Value Indicator

¥60,000-¥90,000 Value Indicator

7,500-11,000 Value Indicator

$60,000-$90,000 Value Indicator

¥1,180,000-¥1,720,000 Value Indicator

$8,000-$12,000 Value Indicator

-4% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

1 in network
3 want this
Cats Named Sam IV 66 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 66 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£6,000-£9,500Value Indicator

$11,500-$18,000 Value Indicator

$10,500-$16,000 Value Indicator

¥50,000-¥90,000 Value Indicator

7,000-11,000 Value Indicator

$60,000-$90,000 Value Indicator

¥1,090,000-¥1,720,000 Value Indicator

$7,500-$12,000 Value Indicator

1% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

1 in network
2 want this
Cats Named Sam IV 52 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 52 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£6,500-£10,000Value Indicator

$12,500-$19,000 Value Indicator

$11,000-$17,000 Value Indicator

¥60,000-¥90,000 Value Indicator

7,500-11,500 Value Indicator

$60,000-$100,000 Value Indicator

¥1,180,000-¥1,810,000 Value Indicator

$8,000-$12,500 Value Indicator

10% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

1 in network
2 want this
Cats Named Sam IV 60 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 60 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£6,500-£9,500Value Indicator

$12,500-$18,000 Value Indicator

$11,000-$16,000 Value Indicator

¥60,000-¥90,000 Value Indicator

7,500-11,000 Value Indicator

$60,000-$90,000 Value Indicator

¥1,180,000-¥1,720,000 Value Indicator

$8,000-$12,000 Value Indicator

-11% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

1 in network
Cats Named Sam IV 57 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 57 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£6,500-£9,500Value Indicator

$12,500-$18,000 Value Indicator

$11,000-$16,000 Value Indicator

¥60,000-¥90,000 Value Indicator

7,500-11,000 Value Indicator

$60,000-$90,000 Value Indicator

¥1,180,000-¥1,720,000 Value Indicator

$8,000-$12,000 Value Indicator

-5% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

2 want this
Cats Named Sam IV 62 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 62 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£6,500-£10,000Value Indicator

$12,500-$19,000 Value Indicator

$11,000-$17,000 Value Indicator

¥60,000-¥90,000 Value Indicator

7,500-11,500 Value Indicator

$60,000-$100,000 Value Indicator

¥1,180,000-¥1,810,000 Value Indicator

$8,000-$12,500 Value Indicator

-11% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

2 want this
Cats Named Sam IV 53 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 53 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£6,500-£10,000Value Indicator

$12,500-$19,000 Value Indicator

$11,000-$17,000 Value Indicator

¥60,000-¥90,000 Value Indicator

7,500-11,500 Value Indicator

$60,000-$100,000 Value Indicator

¥1,180,000-¥1,810,000 Value Indicator

$8,000-$12,500 Value Indicator

-7% AAGR (5YR)

TradingFloor

1 want this
Cats Named Sam IV 56 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 56 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£7,000-£10,000Value Indicator

$13,500-$19,000 Value Indicator

$12,000-$17,000 Value Indicator

¥60,000-¥90,000 Value Indicator

8,000-11,500 Value Indicator

$70,000-$100,000 Value Indicator

¥1,270,000-¥1,810,000 Value Indicator

$9,000-$12,500 Value Indicator

Cats Named Sam IV 58 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 58 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£7,000-£10,000Value Indicator

$13,500-$19,000 Value Indicator

$12,000-$17,000 Value Indicator

¥60,000-¥90,000 Value Indicator

8,000-11,500 Value Indicator

$70,000-$100,000 Value Indicator

¥1,270,000-¥1,810,000 Value Indicator

$9,000-$12,500 Value Indicator

Cats Named Sam IV 54 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 54 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£6,500-£9,500Value Indicator

$12,500-$18,000 Value Indicator

$11,000-$16,000 Value Indicator

¥60,000-¥90,000 Value Indicator

7,500-11,000 Value Indicator

$60,000-$90,000 Value Indicator

¥1,180,000-¥1,720,000 Value Indicator

$8,000-$12,000 Value Indicator

4% AAGR (5YR)
Cats Named Sam IV 67 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 67 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£3,550-£5,500Value Indicator

$7,000-$10,500 Value Indicator

$6,000-$9,500 Value Indicator

¥30,000-¥50,000 Value Indicator

4,150-6,500 Value Indicator

$35,000-$50,000 Value Indicator

¥640,000-¥1,000,000 Value Indicator

$4,450-$7,000 Value Indicator

6% AAGR (5YR)
Cats Named Sam IV 65 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 65 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£6,500-£10,000Value Indicator

$12,500-$19,000 Value Indicator

$11,000-$17,000 Value Indicator

¥60,000-¥90,000 Value Indicator

7,500-11,500 Value Indicator

$60,000-$100,000 Value Indicator

¥1,180,000-¥1,810,000 Value Indicator

$8,000-$12,500 Value Indicator

8% AAGR (5YR)
Cats Named Sam IV 63 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 63 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£6,000-£9,000Value Indicator

$11,500-$17,000 Value Indicator

$10,500-$15,000 Value Indicator

¥50,000-¥80,000 Value Indicator

7,000-10,500 Value Indicator

$60,000-$90,000 Value Indicator

¥1,090,000-¥1,630,000 Value Indicator

$7,500-$11,500 Value Indicator

16% AAGR (5YR)
Cats Named Sam IV 61 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 61 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£6,000-£9,500Value Indicator

$11,500-$18,000 Value Indicator

$10,500-$16,000 Value Indicator

¥50,000-¥90,000 Value Indicator

7,000-11,000 Value Indicator

$60,000-$90,000 Value Indicator

¥1,090,000-¥1,720,000 Value Indicator

$7,500-$12,000 Value Indicator

41% AAGR (5YR)
Cats Named Sam IV 64 - Unsigned Print by Andy Warhol 1954 - MyArtBroker
Cats Named Sam IV 64 
Andy WarholUnsigned Print 

£6,000-£9,500Value Indicator

$11,500-$18,000 Value Indicator

$10,500-$16,000 Value Indicator

¥50,000-¥90,000 Value Indicator

7,000-11,000 Value Indicator

$60,000-$90,000 Value Indicator

¥1,090,000-¥1,720,000 Value Indicator

$7,500-$12,000 Value Indicator

17% AAGR (5YR)

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Meaning & Analysis

Aside from an obsession with celebrity and consumer culture, Warhol dedicated a large body of work to depicting cats, as seen in this series. Before making it as an artist Warhol worked as a freelance commercial and children’s book illustrator. He lived in an apartment on East 57th Street with his mother Julia Warhola and 25 cats who all shared the same name. In 1954 he published a children's book called 25 Cats Name (sic) Sam and One Blue Pussy for which he produced 16 – not 25 despite what the title suggests – lithographs accompanied by his mother’s exquisite calligraphy. The original book is extremely rare but the prints have survived and are each unique, having been hand coloured by Warhol or his friends. These are some of the earliest works by Warhol on the market today and they offer a rare insight into his playful outlook and talent for colour.

The cats in the series vary from fuchsia pink – Sam 51– to bright yellow – the most famous feline from the series, Sam 58 – to elegant brick red – Sam 65 – to the more traditional tabby of Sam 54, startlingly contrasted by the One Blue Pussy of the title, known here as Sam 68. With this rainbow menagerie Warhol appears to be testing the possibilities of combining the simple and elegant lines of his sketches with the bright blocks of colour that could be added after the process of making the lithograph. With works such as Sam 66 we can see how the colour is often laid over the lines to create an offset effect. Warhol would exploit this technique further when he turned his hand to screen printing.

10 Facts About Andy Warhol's Cats Named Sam

Cats Named Sam IV 58 by Andy Warhol

Cats Named Sam IV 58 © Andy Warhol 1954

1. Warhol and his mother owned 25 cats, all named Sam except for one.

Before Warhol had reached superstar status in the art world, he lived with his mother, Julia, in New York throughout the 1950s. In their apartment on East 57th Street in Manhattan, Warhol and his mother owned a lonely cat named Hester. To combat her loneliness, Warhol began to grow his cat colony, eventually owning 25 cats all named 'Sam'.

Cats Named Sam IV 68 by Andy Warhol

Cats Named Sam IV 68 © Andy Warhol 1954

2. The series was made to accompany a children's book Warhol published.

In 1954, Warhol published these prints in a children's book named 25 Cats Name (sic) Sam and One Blue Pussy. Despite the title of the book, Warhol only actually made 16 lithographs of his cats, but clearly studied each of them with an intimate scrutiny.

You Can Lead A Shoe To Water But You Can’t Make It Drink by Andy Warhol

You Can Lead A Shoe To Water But You Can’t Make It Drink © Andy Warhol 1950

3. The series recalls the commercial prints made in Warhol's early career.

Much like his earlier print series, like La Recherche Du Shoe Perdu, Cats Named Sam reveals Warhol's printing style when he was working as a commercial illustrator. Characterised by graphic lines and bold colours, the prints in this series are an early instance of Warhol's application of a commercial aesthetic on a personalised subject.

Cats Named Sam IV 67 by Andy Warhol

Cats Named Sam IV 67 © Andy Warhol 1954