His Factory Girl Friday

If you grew up like I did with visions of Andy Warhol dancing in your head, then you must read Carol Vogel's delightful story about a Brooklyn high school girl who wound up working as a secretary after class for Andy in his '60s heyday. While she received no pay (Warhol was notoriously cheap), she received an embarrassment of riches in the form of hanging around the Factory during all her free time chatting with Andy -- whom she remembers as "kind" and "protective" -- while the likes of Edie Sedgwick, the Velvet Underground and the Rolling Stones popped by.

As a reward for her transcription work on “A Novel,” Warhol’s James Joyce-inspired book of uninterrupted taped conversations -- “Andy insisted we type out every burp, every stutter” -- he gave her two paintings. One, a 5-inch-square flower painting, she is keeping, The other, a 1965 self-portrait, she has decided to part with. Sotheby’s is selling it on Nov. 11 at its evening sale of contemporary art, where experts there estimate it will fetch $1 million to $1.5 million. Not bad for a part-time work. (Read the full story HERE.)