The Art of Copying: Richard Pettibone's Miniature Masterpieces

27 Sept 2025 · 1 min

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1:02

In this brief YouTube monologue, the speaker introduces Richard Pettibone, a 1970s artist who created miniature copies of famous works by artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and others. Pettibone’s pieces were affordable, low‑cost knockoffs that resembled iconic artworks, often looking like toys. The speaker recounts an anecdote about a woman in Roslyn who bought four of Pettibone’s Warhol‑style Elvis pieces for $300 each in the 1970s; today each is valued at roughly $25,000 and has begun appearing at auction. The narrative underscores how these modest reproductions have transitioned from cheap curiosities to collectible items with significant market value, and ends with a call to subscribe for future videos.

Chapters

So I'll tell you a quick story. Pettibone. Richard Pettibone. Anyone know who that is? No. Richard Pettibone was a guy in the 1970s who did copies of artwork of Lichtenstein and Warhol and a bunch of other— Visarellis, all these major big artists. You can't afford a $10 million piece, he would make a miniature one that just looked cool. It was almost like a knockoff, like a funny thing. There was a lady in Roslyn who had 4 of these little pieces. a Warhol-looking one with Elvis Presley on it that looked pretty cool, and she bought them for $300 in the '70s apiece. Today they are worth $25,000 each. It's kind of like your— And this was 5 minutes from here. I didn't get them. She probably still has it, but they look like toys. My only point is they were listed artists. Over the years, they started selling at auction, and, you know, they might not be a $20 million Warhol, but they could be a $25,000 Teddy Roosevelt. Please subscribe so you don't miss any future videos.