ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987) ‘You’re In’ Coke bottle signed ‘A.W.’

Coca-Cola glass bottle, metal bottle stopper, spray paint signed with initials by the artist in black ink ‘A. W.’; inscription ‘SEAL AGAIN BOTTLE’S STOPPER CO/ Patent no. 2157.937/ NEW YORK’; ‘ (on the stopper cap) Height 20.5 cm circa 1967 Provenance: Private collection Warhol produced ‘You’re In’ in 1967 filling Coke bottles with a cheap cologne called ‘Silver Lining.’ The project made its debut on a poster for an exhibition at the Museum of Merchandise, which advertised the bottles as being filled with toilet water and mischievously entitled ‘You’re In.’ By suggesting that this Coke bottle was filled with urine, Warhol seemed to defame the product that all Americans shared: in his 1975 book The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, he famously mused: ‘The President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too.’ As far as ‘You’re In’ was concerned, Coca-Cola was not amused and ordered Warhol to cease and desist. This work encapsulates Warhol’s profound and unparalleled ability to both retain and destroy the commercial identity of the everyday object.