Most people don't see anything close to art when they look at the U.S. unemployment rate, but for Andy Warhol, the jobless numbers are nothing short of a masterpiece.
Andy Warhol @ Christie's: Online Only.
26 February - 5 March 2013.
Andy Warhol (1928-1987).
U.S. Unemployment Rate.
synthetic polymer on paper.
231Ž2 x 311Ž2 in. (59.7 x 80 cm.).
Executed circa 1984..
In 1984, Warhol drew a relatively accurate depiction of the U.S. unemployment rate from 1980 to 1984. Christie's will be putting the picture up for auction this February. Roughly the length and height of two rulers, the small drawing is expected to bring in as much as $30,000.
Warhol's drawing shows the jobless rate reaching 10.8 percent during the peak of early 1980s recession. That's higher than the 10 percent unemployment rate reached in 2009 during the height of the Great Recession.
Though the jobless rate has come down since then, it reached the relatively high level of 7.8 percent in December. Economists predict that Friday's jobs report will show that job gains in January were not strong enough to sway the jobless rate any lower, the International Business Times reports.
(h/t NPR)
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