NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Manhattan Scientifics, Inc. (MHTX), developer of patented technology for early cancer detection, announced it will auction Andy Warhol's original Polaroid of Senator Edward Kennedy to advance cancer research. Warhol used the iconic image to create his silkscreen portrait series supporting the lawmaker's 1980 Presidential campaign. Kennedy died in 2009, after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.
Swann Galleries will feature the never-before-seen Polaroid in a New York City auction on Thursday, October 4, 2012. The auction coincides with this year's Presidential race, marking Kennedy's 80th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his seating in the U.S. Senate. These milestones will spark significant bidding interest.
Auction proceeds will benefit The Early Use Fund, a non-profit organization assisting leading cancer researchers and prestigious medical facilities, including Memorial Sloan-Kettering and M.D. Anderson, in obtaining access to emerging cancer technologies. One promising breakthrough technology is a method to identify early-stage cancer, developed by scientist Edward R. Flynn and researchers at the University of New Mexico, and funded by Manhattan Scientifics.
"This auction remembers the energy and charisma of Ted Kennedy, as seen through the camera lens of artist Andy Warhol," CEO Manny Tsoupanarias said. "Manhattan Scientifics is committed to defeating this disease and is proud to sponsor this important auction. Proceeds will support critical research and advance breakthrough technology for early cancer detection."
"Ted Kennedy was a powerful advocate of the promise of medical technology and the limitless possibility of science," Manhattan Scientifics founder Marvin Maslow said. "In the face of an aggressive and incurable brain cancer, Ted Kennedy never abandoned his belief that a solution would be found. The sale of this historic photograph continues that cause, supporting new technology that can identify cancer years earlier, in its microscopic stage."
Warhol was known for his use of Polaroid prints and artistic focus on the Kennedys, including President Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline. Instant photography became a defining ingredient in the artist's signature silkscreen portraits. Today, Polaroid has reinvented instant photography for the digital age and is a world leader in consumer electronics. The company is a supporting sponsor of the auction.
For Richard S. Larson, MD, PhD, Vice Chancellor of Research at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center and medical co-developer of Manhattan Scientifics' cancer technology center, the auction is especially significant. As a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Medical School, Larson spent years in Boston earning his PhD and MD credentials. He worked in the city's premier hospitals and medical facilities, alongside the very professionals involved in treating the Senator. For him, advancing techniques for early cancer detection provides an opportunity to recognize Kennedy's efforts in positioning the U.S. as a world leader in medical research.
Had this technology been available in the years leading up to Senator Kennedys battle against brain cancer, we would have possessed an enormous medical advantage in treating him," Larson said. "This technology could have made the difference in saving the life of Edward Kennedy."
Manhattan Scientifics' patented process offers the promise of early cancer detection, in many cases two to three years sooner than current diagnostic techniques, enabling doctors to provide early treatment using nanotechnology. The potential exists to strategically target the disease using nanometals, destroying only malignant cells without ionizing radiation.
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Original Andy Warhol Polaroid of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy to Be Sold at Auction