Beyond painting and photography, Andy Warhol’s graphic prints propelled his artwork to massive stardom in the 1960s. By copying and manipulating popular images of celebrities and consumer goods, and adding slight variations in color and subject, Warhol illustrated a loss of individuality in mass culture. The images explore his obsession with pop culture and celebrity.
Following a recent show at the Portland Art Museum (the largest collection of Warhol prints ever exhibited), an accompanying catalogue, published earlier this week, features 40 years of Warhol’s most colorful pieces. Andy Warhol: Prints traces the artist’s career from his days illustrating books to his innovative use of screen printing.
“His work is as meaningful today as when it was completed,” writes Jordan D. Schnitzer, who spent years collecting the 250 prints and ephemera shown in the exhibit. The collection includes Warhol’s most popular reproductions — of Marilyn Monroe, Mao Zedong, and Campbell’s soup cans — as well as lesser-known reproductions of rainbow-colored shoes, fruit, and lounging cats. Click ahead to preview the book.
Ladies and Gentlemen (II.135), 1975. Screenprint. 43 1/2 x 28 1/2 in. Courtesy of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation.
Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn), (II.31), 1967. Screenprint. 36 x 36 in. Courtesy of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation.
Self-Portrait (IIIC.1[a]), ca. 1967. Screenprint. 18 x 11 3/4 in. Courtesy of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation.
Mick Jagger (II.143), 1975. Screenprint. 43 1/2 x 29 in. Courtesy of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation.
Space Fruit: Still Lifes, Cantaloupes II (II.198), 1979. Screenprint. 30 x 40 in. Courtesy of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation.
