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Andy Warhol paints Wayne Gretzky
By now it's practically hockey legend. Wayne Gretzky started playing the game in the backyard rink built by his dad. It marked the beginning of the most spectacular career in hockey history. From the time Gretzky donned his first pair of skates at age two to the shocking trade that took him south of the border, we look at how the "Great One" set the bar higher for Canada's favourite game.
Warhol, too, enjoyed working with the star of the Edmonton Oilers. "He's more than a hockey player, he's an entertainer," says Warhol. "An entertaining hockey player." Gretzky is the first hockey player Warhol has painted, and the two met at the behest of a group of investors gathered by Vancouver art dealer Frans Wynans. "These are very good paintings... they're very, very excellent," says Wynans, who's selling them for a cool $35,000 each.
• Gretzky was disappointed there wasn't a hockey stick around, so Frans Wynans, who attended the session, went to a sporting goods shop across the street for one.
• After Warhol's death in 1987, the Gretzky paintings (like all of his art) appreciated in value. The six Gretzky paintings were suddenly worth at least $100,000 each and the silkscreens - originally selling for $2,000, as mentioned in this clip - were worth $6,000.
• According to Sports Illustrated, Gretzky hung his portrait in the dining room of his Edmonton home, not the living room as he promised in the clip.
Program: CBC Radio News
Broadcast Date: Jan. 1, 1983
Guest(s): Wayne Gretzky, Andy Warhol, Franz Wynans
Reporter: Matthew Flamm
Duration: 3:12
Last updated: April 16, 2012
Page consulted on March 27, 2013
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