Tom Seaver (1977) Andy Warhol: 1977 July 20 - A Tale of Two Caps

1983 Topps #581 Super Veteran Tom Seaver

One of the reasons Richard Weisman picked Tom Seaver for Andy Warhol's Athlete's Series is that he was the ballplayers proximity to New York would make it easy to set up a portrait sitting at the artists studio in Manhattan.

Unfortunately things happen...


NYT 1977 Jun 16

On June 15th of 1977 the Mets traded Tom Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds. I am not going to go into the ugly details that led up to the trade, I will only note that the Mets-Seaver relationship did not end on friendly terms.

As we noted earlier despite the trade Seaver was able to sit for the Warhol portrait when he retuned to New York for the All-Star Game. Within the Warhol Diaries there is an interesting anecdote about the Seaver and the Mets.

The first passage discusses how much Andy Warhol appreciated Seaver and Athletes in general, The 2nd and 3rd portion get to our "Tale of Two Caps"

This is a mere month after Seaver was traded by the Mets and he was still angry with the club. What Andy relates here...

"He hates the Mets now. He'd just bought a new house in Connecticut and everything when they traded him"

Is so brutally honest. It isn't really new information. Anyone familiar with the Mets or Seaver knows the details, but it is interesting seeing it from a non-baseball perspective.

The wound was still raw for Seaver and clearly his feelings towards the Mets left an impression on Warhol. It is the kind of thing a perceptive artist who only sat with his subject for an hour may find out that a reporter with a microphone may not.  

Thanks to photographer Rene Perez we have some interesting documentation of "A Tale of Two Caps"


AP Image / Rene Perez

We have Andy photographing Tom wearing a Reds cap, but then we can look down and THERE IT IS! The Mets Cap that Tom Seaver refused to wear for this portrait sitting.

Fortunately for Tom Seaver and the Mets, they have resolved their differences. Tom Seaver's #41 is retired by the club and can be seen on the walls at Citifield

To read more about the Tom Seaver Portrait sitting click here.

Sources and Links
Andy Warhol Tom Seaver Index
Andy Warhol Index
The Warhol Diaries
1977 JUL 20: Tom Seaver Portrait Sitting  with Andy Warhol
New York Times
Rene Perez
AP Images

Tom Seaver (1977) Andy Warhol: 1977 July 20 - The Portrait Sitting

The commission of Andy Warhol's Athletes Series was funded by investment banker and art collector Richard Weisman.  Since Warhol was unfamiliar with figures in the sports world if fell on Richard Weisman to pick the subjects. The first two athletes he picked were New York Rangers Hockey player Rod Gilbert and Tom Seaver.

Part of the reason the two were chosen was proximity, both athletes played for New York teams which simplified getting them to Andy Warhol's studio which was also located in the city.

Unfortunately for Weisman on June 15th 1977 the New York Mets traded Tom Seaver to the New York Mets.

Seaver's first return to New York was just under a month later for the All-Star Game at Yankee stadium on July 19th. A day later Tom Seaver was at Andy Warhol's factory to sit for his Athletes Portrait.


AP Images / Rene Perez

I love this photo. Two of New York's most iconic figures from the mid-1970s. They have the tools of their trade in hand, Andy with his camera, Tom with his glove. In the quaint pre-MegaMerchandising days of 1977 the players likely didn't wear special uniforms for special games so I am thinking there is a good chance that the Travel Jersey worn by Seaver here may be the same one he wore during the previous nights All-Star game.

Thanks to Rene Perez, who is now a fine art photographer, we have several great photos of the Seaver portrait sitting. The pictures are a nice document of how Andy Warhol worked while with a portrait subject.

I am think the above photo is of our two heroes executing a celebrity gift exchange. Seaver is likely giving Warhol and autographed bat, in return Tom probably received a signed copy of Andy's most recent book at the time which was "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol"

As a side note, I learned from the Louisville Slugger tour that they brand the player signature onto the bat if there is an exclusive deal between the parties.  Otherwise, players getting bats from multiple companies receive the block letter treatment that is on the Seaver bat.


AP Images / Rene Perez

For the reference photos Andy Warhol used a Polaroid Big Shot camera, which we see in this second Rene Perez photo. To read more about the camera check out Camerapedia.

Warhol found the camera favorable for a couple of reasons, first and foremost he liked the pictures it took, secondly I believe the artist liked the intimacy it created between him and his subject. To take a good picture Polaroid cameras require the photographer to be in close proximity of the subject. This closeness is important to an artist who may only spend an hour with his subject.

Finally Polaroids provided one other asset in the pre-digital 1970s...


AP Images / Rene Perez

Instant feedback.

This way Andy Warhol could find out which pictures Seaver liked and which he did not. Typically a few of these Polaroids would be blown up to a large size and Andy would choose one to create the stencil for the final silkscreen.

The Polaroid ultimately chosen is below: 


To see the Warhol-Seaver Polaroids we have found click here.

Carlos Rene Perez
The black and white photos in this post were taken by Rene Perez who was working as a stringer at the time. He is still active and has some fine art photography I found interesting especially his Edward Hopper inspired pictures, his website can be found here.

The Warhol Portrait Process
For as ubiquitous as Andy Warhol was with celebrities during the 1970s pictures documenting him at work seem pretty rare on line. We are very lucky to have the Rene Perez which happen to feature a Hall of Fame pitcher. The only other pictures I found in Getty Images were of Warhol's session with pop artist Pia Zadora.

There is also a 20/20 segment on YouTube that features Andy photographing model Farah Fawcett. 

Sources and Links
Andy Warhol Tom Seaver Index
Andy Warhol Index
The Warhol Diaries
Rene Perez
AP Images
Danziger Gallery
Getty Images / Life Magazine
youtube (20/20)