Day 1: Folk Art, Outsider & Self-Taught. Day 2: Two Private Native American Collections with Select Additions
Wed, Mar 11, 2026 10:00AM EDT
Live Auction
Lot 114
Mr. Imagination - Self Portrait in Bottle Cap Frame
Estimate: $800 - $1,200
Bid Increments
| Price | Bid Increment |
|---|---|
| $0 | $25 |
| $200 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $200 |
| $5,000 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 | $2,000 |
| $50,000 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 | $10,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $50,000 |
Mr. Imagination (1948–2012), Self portrait in bottle cap frame. Untitled mixed media, clay, bottle caps, paint brush bristles, and found objects.
H 13-3/4 in. W 8-3/4 in. D 3 in.
Provenance: Sotheby's June 1997; Marshall Hahn Collection.
Gregory Warmack, better known as Mr. Imagination (March 30, 1948 – May 30, 2012), was an American outsider artist who worked in a variety of forms and his work often made use of sandstone and bottlecaps and other repurposed materials. Warmack grew up in the Chicago area and had no formal training as an artist, but in the 1970s he began to make and sell art at street fairs. While in Chicago in 1978, he was shot in the stomach during a mugging and lapsed into a coma. During his hospitalization, he had a spiritual vision. The incident spurred Warmack to renew his focus on art and broaden his scope, and shortly after he began using the name Mr. Imagination. Warmack used paint, wood, nails, putty, and cement, and also incorporated found objects into his work, including vintage commercial items and discarded objects such as tools, household instruments, and mirrors. Mr. Imagination's first solo exhibition was assembled in 1983 at the Carl Hammer Galleries in Chicago and his works have gone on to be exhibited in shows throughout the United States such as the Dallas Museum of Art, the African American Museum in Dallas, the Halsey Gallery at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, the William Benton Museum of Art at the University of Connecticut and at the Society for Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh. He was also exhibited internationally, including in Venice and Paris. Several of his pieces are part of the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and he is also exhibited at the American Visionary Art Museum, the American Folk Art Museum, and the High Museum of Art.
Condition
Shipping/Pickup
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