“I went there with a friend to do an interview, and suddenly we were the ones being interviewed by Ondine.”  So says Cathy Naso of her initial visit to Warhol‘s Factory as a high school senior.  Naso went there hoping to research an article for her French class, but wound up—as these things happen—leaving as a receptionist, where she worked for the next two years.  Her duties during that heady period included eating lots of yogurt, transcribing Warhol’s James Joyce-inspired a: A Novel, and hanging out with The Velvet Underground.

As a reward for her efforts, Warhol gifted Naso with a self-portrait (above), which hung on her wall briefly before she stashed it in a closet for safe-keeping.  Now, after 40-plus years, Naso’s selling it off through Sotheby’s, where experts think it can fetch an estimated $1-1.5 million (Umm…estimated value of hanging out at The Factory for 2 years?  Priceless!). 

Before Warhol gave his self-portrait to Naso, he signed it: “To Cathy ?