Where that MJ photo came from, there are pictures, also by Andy Warhol, of Tina Turner, Ozzy Osbourne, Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, Debbie Harry, and more musicians and performers. They're in an exhibition of 40 works by Warhol at Sole Repair on Capitol Hill. Tonight, there's a cash bar happy hour from 6 to 8—wear "Factory chic," I am told—and the show is up through October 8.

Warhol in Seattle is put on by auction-house Christie's, which since 2012 has been touring shows of works owned by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in order to raise money for the foundation. The foundation gives grants to organizations, artists, and writers (disclosure: me, back in 2009)—and owns Warhol's own prodigious collection of his work.

"The only person that’s ever owned this artwork is Andy Warhol," said Amelia Manderscheid, Christie's associate vice president, reached by phone.

Admission is free. The array includes some pieces Warhol made for his 1976 exhibition at Seattle Art Museum's then-"modern pavilion" (it was located in Seattle Center). I wrote about that 1976 show in 2008. It brought Double Elvis to Seattle (now owned by SAM), and now it yields the return of the cow wallpaper.

A number of other works are music-themed. There are cartoonish unique drawings from the 1950s, self-portraits, and screen prints, plus the photographs of celebs.

His photo collection was "like Andy Warhol's Facebook—his who's who," Manderscheid said. In choosing the music theme but including works outside it, too, "we wanted to show breadth and depth but still have some context to what we're doing."

Prices range from $2,500 to $55,000. Manderscheid would not disclose how much the touring shows/sales have totaled for the foundation so far, but said the 2012 auction that kicked off the partnership generated $17 million in sales alone, so "it's many millions of dollars, I can tell you that," she said.

Seattle dealer Greg Kucera emailed to say "the foundation ... does do amazing funding for all kinds of good things." It's hard to tell how good the work will be without seeing it, he added. Now we can.

Warhol in Seattle coincides with the run-up to the Pop Departures exhibition opening at SAM on October 9, the day after Warhol in Seattle closes. (Hours are listed on the jump; more Warhol at Christie's.)

Hours:
October 3, 11am–8pm, cash bar happy hour 6-8pm
October 4, 1–5pm
October 5, 1–5pm
October 6, 11am–5pm
October 7–8 by appointment