Lost Warhol Neon Scarf

In 1982, Karen Bystedt, then 19-year-old NYU student, cold-called Andy Warhol at his Union Square studio and asked if she could photograph him. Andy said YES!

Years later, Karen packed the portraits in a box and moved to Los Angeles. But after she’d gotten settled, she couldn’t find them. She couldn’t remember if she had given the snaps away or just left them in some forgotten storage unit. Either way, she assumed they were lost forever.

In 2011 Karen spent two weeks going through some old garages, where she had stored belongings decades ago. In a termite-filled cardboard box, she struck gold: 10 of the original negatives, preserved in wax sleeves but covered in dust.