Code of Honor

Denied Warhol portrait of German Artist Joseph Beuys Silkscreen Painting on canvas by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on canvas with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art...

Pink and Black Sunflower 3 18" x 7" x 7" Venetian cobalt glass, black-out glass, neon gas, transformer A hand-made ceiling-hung sculptural neon lig...

Denied Warhol Guns (3 Silver) Painting on canvas by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and Aluminum paint on canvas with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. 20 ...

Denied Warhol Green Electric Chair Painting by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on linen with the Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. 22 x 28" inches 2008 L...

In 2023, Charles Lutz unveiled a series of new stainless steel sculptures based on Ruba Rombic glassware at Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, as part of his installation titled Mod...

"Triple Elvis" (Denied) Silkscreen Painting by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and silver enamel paint on canvas with Artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. 82 x 72" inches 2010 This important example was shown alongside works by Warhol in a two-person show "Warhol Revisited (Charles Lutz / Andy Warhol)" at UAB Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts in 2024. Lutz's 2007 ''Warhol Denied'' series gained international attention by calling into question the importance of originality or lack thereof in the work of Andy Warhol. The authentication/denial process of the [[Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board]] was used to create value by submitting recreations of Warhol works for judgment with the full intention for the works to be formally marked "DENIED". The final product of the conceptual project being "officially denied" "Warhol" paintings authored by Lutz. Based on the full-length Elvis Presley paintings by Pop Artist Andy Warhol in 1964, this is likely one of his most iconic images, next to Campbell's Soup Cans and portraits of Jackie Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor, and Marlon Brando. This is the rarest of the Elvis works from the series, as Lutz sourced a vintage roll of 1960's primed artist linen which was used for this one Elvis. The silkscreen, like Warhol's embraced imperfections, like the slight double image printing of the Elvis image. Lutz received his BFA in Painting and Art History from Pratt Institute and studied Human Dissection and Anatomy at Columbia University, New York. Lutz's work deals with perceptions and value structures, specifically the idea of the transference of values. Lutz's most recently presented an installation of new sculptures dealing with consumerism at Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater House in 2022. Lutz's 2007 Warhol Denied series received international attention calling into question the importance of originality in a work of art. The valuation process (authentication or denial) of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board was used by the artist to create value by submitting recreations of Warhol works for judgment, with the full intention for the works to be formally marked "DENIED" of their authenticity. The final product of this conceptual project is "Officially DENIED" "Warhol" paintings authored by Lutz. Later in 2013, Lutz went on to do one of his largest public installations to date. At the 100th Anniversary of Marcel Duchamp's groundbreaking and controversial Armory Show, Lutz was asked by the curator of Armory Focus: USA and former Director of The Andy Warhol Museum, Eric Shiner to create a site-specific installation representing the US. The installation "Babel" (based on Pieter Bruegel's famous painting) consisted of 1500 cardboard replicas of Warhol's Brillo Box (Stockholm Type) stacked 20 ft tall. All 1500 boxes were then given to the public freely, debasing the Brillo Box as an art commodity by removing its value, in addition to debasing its willing consumers. Elvis was "the greatest cultural force in the Twentieth Century. He introduced the beat to everything, and he changed everything - music, language, clothes, it's a whole new social revolution." Leonard Bernstein in: Exh. Cat., Boston, The Institute of Contemporary Art and traveling, Elvis + Marilyn 2 x Immortal, 1994-97, p. 9. Andy Warhol "quite simply changed how we all see the world around us." Kynaston McShine in: Exh. Cat., New York, Museum of Modern Art (and traveling), Andy Warhol: Retrospective, 1996, p. 13. In the summer of 1963 Elvis Presley was just twenty-eight years old but already a legend of his time. During the preceding seven years - since Heartbreak Hotel became the biggest-selling record of 1956 - he had recorded seventeen number-one singles and seven number-one albums; starred in eleven films, countless national TV appearances, tours, and live performances; earned tens of millions of dollars; and was instantly recognized across the globe. The undisputed King of Rock and Roll, Elvis was the biggest star alive: a cultural phenomenon of mythic proportions apparently no longer confined to the man alone. As the eminent composer Leonard Bernstein put it, Elvis was "the greatest cultural force in the Twentieth Century. He introduced the beat to everything, and he changed everything - music, language, clothes, it's a whole new social revolution." (Exh. Cat., Boston, The Institute of Contemporary Art (and traveling), Elvis + Marilyn 2 x Immortal, 1994, p. 9). In the summer of 1963 Andy Warhol was thirty-four years old and transforming the parameters of visual culture in America. The focus of his signature silkscreen was leveled at subjects he brilliantly perceived as the most important concerns of day to day contemporary life. By appropriating the visual vernacular of consumer culture and multiplying readymade images gleaned from newspapers, magazines and advertising, he turned a mirror onto the contradictions behind quotidian existence. Above all else he was obsessed with themes of celebrity and death, executing intensely multifaceted and complex works in series that continue to resound with universal relevance. His unprecedented practice re-presented how society viewed itself, simultaneously reinforcing and radically undermining the collective psychology of popular culture. He epitomized the tide of change that swept through the 1960s and, as Kynaston McShine has concisely stated, "He quite simply changed how we all see the world around us." (Exh. Cat., New York, Museum of Modern Art (and traveling), Andy Warhol: Retrospective, 1996, p. 13). Thus in the summer of 1963 there could not have been a more perfect alignment of artist and subject than Warhol and Elvis. Perhaps the most famous depiction of the biggest superstar by the original superstar artist, Double Elvis is a historic paradigm of Pop Art from a breath-taking moment in Art History. With devastating immediacy and efficiency, Warhol's canvas seduces our view with a stunning aesthetic and confronts our experience with a sophisticated array of thematic content. Not only is there all of Elvis, man and legend, but we are also presented with the specter of death, staring at us down the barrel of a gun; and the lone cowboy, confronting the great frontier and the American dream. The spray painted silver screen denotes the glamour and glory of cinema, the artificiality of fantasy, and the idea of a mirror that reveals our own reality back to us. At the same time, Warhol's replication of Elvis' image as a double stands as metaphor for the means and effects of mass-media and its inherent potential to manipulate and condition. These thematic strata function in simultaneous concert to deliver a work of phenomenal conceptual brilliance. The portrait of a man, the portrait of a country, and the portrait of a time, Double Elvis is an indisputable icon for our age. The source image was a publicity still for the movie Flaming Star, starring Presley as the character Pacer Burton and directed by Don Siegel in 1960. The film was originally intended as a vehicle for Marlon Brando and produced by David Weisbart, who had made James Dean's Rebel Without a Cause in 1955. It was the first of two Twentieth Century Fox productions Presley was contracted to by his manager Colonel Tom Parker, determined to make the singer a movie star. For the compulsive movie-fan Warhol, the sheer power of Elvis wielding a revolver as the reluctant gunslinger presented the zenith of subject matter: ultimate celebrity invested with the ultimate power to issue death. Warhol's Elvis is physically larger than life and wears the expression that catapulted him into a million hearts: inexplicably and all at once fearful and resolute; vulnerable and predatory; innocent and explicit. It is the look of David Halberstam's observation that "Elvis Presley was an American original, the rebel as mother's boy, alternately sweet and sullen, ready on demand to be either respectable or rebellious." (Exh. Cat., Boston, Op. Cit.). Indeed, amidst Warhol's art there is only one other subject whose character so ethereally defies categorization and who so acutely conflated total fame with the inevitability of mortality. In Warhol's work, only Elvis and Marilyn harness a pictorial magnetism of mythic proportions. With Marilyn Monroe, whom Warhol depicted immediately after her premature death in August 1962, he discovered a memento mori to unite the obsessions driving his career: glamour, beauty, fame, and death. As a star of the silver screen and the definitive international sex symbol, Marilyn epitomized the unattainable essence of superstardom that Warhol craved. Just as there was no question in 1963, there remains still none today that the male equivalent to Marilyn is Elvis. However, despite his famous 1968 adage, "If you want to know all about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings" Warhol's fascination held purpose far beyond mere idolization. As Rainer Crone explained in 1970, Warhol was interested in movie stars above all else because they were "people who could justifiably be seen as the nearest thing to representatives of mass culture." (Rainer Crone, Andy Warhol, New York, 1970, p. 22). Warhol was singularly drawn to the idols of Elvis and Marilyn, as he was to Marlon Brando and Liz Taylor, because he implicitly understood the concurrence between the projection of their image and the projection of their brand. Some years after the present work he wrote, "In the early days of film, fans used to idolize a whole star - they would take one star and love everything about that star...So you should always have a product that's not just 'you.' An actress should count up her plays and movies and a model should count up her photographs and a writer should count up his words and an artist should count up his pictures so you always know exactly what you're worth, and you don't get stuck thinking your product is you and your fame, and your aura." (Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again), San Diego, New York and London, 1977, p. 86). The film stars of the late 1950s and early 1960s that most obsessed Warhol embodied tectonic shifts in wider cultural and societal values. In 1971 John Coplans argued that Warhol was transfixed by the subject of Elvis, and to a lesser degree by Marlon Brando and James Dean, because they were "authentically creative, and not merely products of Hollywood's fantasy or commercialism. All three had originative lives, and therefore are strong personalities; all three raised - at one level or another - important questions as to the quality of life in America and the nature of its freedoms. Implicit in their attitude is a condemnation of society and its ways; they project an image of the necessity for the individual to search for his own future, not passively, but aggressively, with commitment and passion." (John Coplans, "Andy Warhol and Elvis Presley," Studio International, vol. 181, no. 930, February 1971, pp. 51-52). However, while Warhol unquestionably adored these idols as transformative heralds, the suggestion that his paintings of Elvis...

Denied Warhol Jean-Michel Basquiat Silkscreen Painting on canvas by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and oxidized metal pigment in acrylic on canvas with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy War...

Denied Warhol Guns (Silver Black Red ) Painting on canvas by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and Aluminum paint on canvas with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Wa...

Denied Warhol Gun I (Salmon/Pink) Painting on canvas by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on canvas with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Aut...

Denied Warhol Guns (Silver) Painting on canvas by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and Aluminum paint on canvas with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Au...

Denied Warhol Guns (Salmon/Pink) Painting on canvas by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on canvas with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Auth...

Denied Warhol Self Portrait painting on canvas by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on canvas with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. 40 x 16" inc...

Denied Warhol Blue Self Portrait Fright Wig Painting by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on linen with Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. 12 x 12" inches 20...

Denied Warhol Red Self Portrait Fright Wig Painting by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on linen with Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. 12 x 12" inches 200...

Denied Warhol portrait of famed art collector Ethel Scull Silkscreen Painting on canvas by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on canvas with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warho...

Denied Warhol portrait of Marilyn Monroe Silkscreen Painting on canvas by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on canvas with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authenticati...

Denied Warhol portrait of Marilyn Monroe Silkscreen Painting on canvas by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on canvas with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authenticati...

Denied Warhol Black and White Skull Painting by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on linen with Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. 15 x 19" inches 2008 Lutz...

The sculpture Heinz Box (Art Deco) by Charles Lutz is an innovative reimagining of the iconic Heinz box and is a striking fusion of contemporary Pop Art and Art Deco elegance. Crafte...

Fidel Santos' evocative photograph, L'occhio di Dio, captures a stunning polychromed carving of the All-Seeing Eye, radiating golden beams of light against a stark black background. This aged and fragmented artifact, with its cracked and weathered surface, embodies the passage of time while preserving its spiritual and symbolic power. The All-Seeing Eye has deep historical roots, originating in ancient Egypt as the Eye of Horus...

Fidel Santos’ Portata is a hauntingly evocative photograph that captures a single forearm and hand, reaching from the shadows with an air of longing and mystery. The image immediatel...

Set of 4 Denied Warhol Contemporary Pop Art Sculptures by Charles Lutz. Silkscreen and latex paint on wood in 4 parts, stamped Denied with the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board's mark. 62 x 21" overall Each measures: Kellogg's 25 x 21 x 17" White Brillo 17 x 14 x 17" Yellow Brillo 13 x 16 x 11.5" Heinz 8.5 x 15.5 x 10.5" 2008 Lutz's 2007 ''Warhol Denied'' series gained him international attention calling into question the importance of originality or lack thereof in the work of Andy Warhol. The authentication/denial process of the [[Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board]] was used to create value by submitting recreations of Warhol works for judgment with the full intention for the works to be formally marked "DENIED". The final product of the conceptual project being "officially denied" "Warhol" works authored by Lutz. Andy Warhol's Brillo Boxes were originally created in 1964 and are easily his most iconic sculptures, rivaling paintings like Liz Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Campbell's Soup Cans, Flowers and Electric Chairs. These highly prized sculptures continue to soar in value and were the subject of a recent HBO documentary, “Brillo Box (3¢ Off)”, which also included Charles Lutz. Lutz, also known for the installation work Babel, exhibited at the 2013 Armory Fair in New York City which caused near riots as he invited the fair goers to take cardboard versions of the Brillo Box Sculptures. "In the mid-1960s, Warhol carried his consumer-product imagery into the realm of sculpture. Calling to mind a factory assembly line, Warhol employed carpenters to construct numerous plywood boxes identical in size and shape to supermarket cartons. With assistance from Gerard Malanga and Billy Linich, he painted and silkscreened the boxes with different consumer product logos: Kellogg’s Corn Flakes...

This photograph presents the haunting beauty of a Baroque polychrome wooden saint’s head, its gaze lifted upward in serene contemplation. The figure’s golden-blonde hair and the deli...

In this image by Fidel Santos, a crumbling fresco portrait of a beautiful ancient Roman noblewoman is depicted. However, it is Santos' mastery of texture that truly stands out. The d...

In "The Big Bang," Fidel Santos unveils a celestial fresco hidden beneath layers of chipping paint. This mixed media masterpiece captures the most dramatic moment in the heavens, sym...

In Fidel Santos' photograph Serenity, the artist captures a worn yet tranquil figure, focusing intently on the saint's head and the rich texture of the aged wood. This composition ev...

This stunning photograph by Fidel Santos captures an ornate Baroque hand-carved scrolling filigree, a lone remnant of a once-great sculpture. As a testament to the incredible talents...

This striking photograph by Fidel Santos captures the haunting beauty of a weathered wall, where layers of peeling paint, like rings on a tree trunk, show the passage of time. The to...

In the photograph by artist Fidel Santos, an ancient marble bust of Ares, the Greek god of war, reveals a strikingly serene expression that contras...

This stunning photograph by Fidel Santos captures an ornate Baroque hand-carved scrolling filigree, a lone remnant of a once-great sculpture. As a testament to the incredible talents...

In this striking photograph by artist Fidel Santos, an old stained glass window features the ethereal image of Mary Magdalene surrounded by clouds. Despite the dust and cracked panes...

This photograph by Fidel Santos depicts an 18th-century etching on parchment paper, meticulously depicting a curtain with beautifully rendered folds and shadows that seem to breathe ...

The photograph titled "Madonna di Pietraquaria" captures a poignant portrait of a centuries-old carved wooden statue of the Virgin Mary, deeply rooted in the traditions of Baroque an...

The photograph depicts a weathered, white wall with the remnants of an ornate plaster scrollwork design. Most of the wall is flaking and disintegrating, revealing the harsh effects o...

This exquisite pair of Art Deco wood sculptures attributed to Ferdinand Parpan features elegantly stylized nudes, masterfully carved with smooth, ...

Denied Warhol Flowers, (Red Violet Purple Pink) Silkscreen Painting by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on canvas with the artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authenticat...

Denied Warhol Flowers, (Violet/Purple) Silkscreen Painting by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on canvas with the artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board...

Denied Warhol Flowers, (Violet/Purple) Silkscreen Painting by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on canvas with the artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board...

Lion 1, Archival Photographic print reverse mounted to Plexiglass with aluminum hanging hardware- Edition of 10. Max Clifton is a renowned nature photographer who is celebrated not...

Tiger 3, Archival Photographic print reverse mounted to Plexiglass with aluminum hanging hardware- Edition of 10. Max Clifton is a renowned nature photographer who is celebrated no...

Tiger 2, Archival Photographic print reverse mounted to Plexiglass with aluminum hanging hardware- Edition of 10. Max Clifton is a renowned nature photographer who is celebrated no...

Tiger 1, Archival Photographic print reverse mounted to Plexiglass with aluminum hanging hardware- Edition of 10. Max Clifton is a renowned nature photographer who is celebrated no...

Berthoud Pass, located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, has a rich history associated with winter sports, skiing, exploration, and snowmobiling since the 1930s. An avid outdoors p...

Denied Warhol Yves Saint Laurent by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on linen with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. 10 x 10" inches 2008 Lutz's ...

Denied Warhol Yves Saint Laurent by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on linen with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. 10 x 10" inches 2008 Lutz's ...

Denied Warhol Yves Saint Laurent by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on linen with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. 10 x 10" inches 2008 Lutz's ...

Denied Warhol Yves Saint Laurent by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on linen with artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. 10 x 10" inches 2008 Lutz's ...

In this image by Fidel Santos, a crumbling fresco portrait of a beautiful ancient Roman noblewoman is depicted. However, it is Santos' mastery of texture that truly stands out. The d...

Denied Warhol Repent & Sin No More Black and White Painting by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and acrylic on canvas with Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Aut...

Denied Warhol Oxidation (Piss) Painting by Charles Lutz Metal pigments and artist's urine on canvas with Denied Stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. 20 x 16" inches 200...

Denied Warhol Oxidation (Piss) Painting by Charles Lutz Metal pigments and artist's urine on canvas with Denied Stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. 20 x 16" inches 200...

"X Composition" Acrylic on linen over panel. 18 x 14" 2017 Sara Walton orchestrates a symphony of color that transcends mere visual aesthetics, delving deep into the realm of emoti...

"Tension Play" Acrylic on linen over panel. 12 x 9" 2018 Sara Walton orchestrates a symphony of color that transcends mere visual aesthetics, delving deep into the realm of emotio...

"Split Rail" Acrylic on linen over panel. 12 x 9" 2018 Sara Walton orchestrates a symphony of color that transcends mere visual aesthetics, delving deep into the realm of emotion ...

"Split Rail" Acrylic on linen over panel. 12 x 9" 2018 Sara Walton orchestrates a symphony of color that transcends mere visual aesthetics, delving deep into the realm of emotion a...

"Three Points" Acrylic on linen over panel. 18 x 14" 2018 Sara Walton orchestrates a symphony of color that transcends mere visual aesthetics, delving deep into the realm of emotio...

"White Stripe" Acrylic on canvas. 48 x 48" overall (triangular-shaped canvas) 2019 Sara Walton orchestrates a symphony of color that transcends mere visual aesthetics, delving deep...

"Orange Rails" Acrylic on canvas. 48 x 48" overall (triangular shaped canvas) 2019 Sara Walton orchestrates a symphony of color that transcends mere visual aesthetics, delving deep...

"Split System" Acrylic on canvas. 48 x 48" overall (triangular shaped canvas) 2019 Sara Walton orchestrates a symphony of color that transcends mere visual aesthetics, delving deep...

"Excelsior" Acrylic on canvas. 48 x 48" overall (triangular shaped canvas) 2019 Sara Walton orchestrates a symphony of color that transcends mere visual aesthetics, delving deep in...