Andy Warhol’s Camouflage complete portfolio was printed in 1987 by his close friend and collaborator, Rupert Jasen Smith. Warhol’s Camouflage screenprints were the final works published before his death the same year. While still alive, Warhol had the opportunity to exhibit the Camouflage screenprints only once at a group show in New York, 1986.

The pop artist was inspired to create the Camouflage complete portfolio after his assistant, Jay Shriver, shared with Warhol that he was working on abstract paintings by pushing paint through the mesh of the military cloth. Warhol had Shriver go to the local New York army surplus store near Union Station to buy some camouflage fabric. Once Shriver had returned with the fabric, it was then photographed and the mesh was removed to only reveal the shapes and patterns of the fabric. Changing the originally muted militaristic color scheme to vivid pop colors, Warhol appropriated the everyday pattern into striking abstract pieces of pop art.

Warhol also collaborated with Stephen Sprouse, a notable fashion designer, to create a clothing line that focused on pop art camouflage. Shortly after, Warhol continued his interest in the pattern and created one of his most famous self-portraits, which was layered with a camouflage print.

It was not until after Warhol died that the Camouflage series was printed, so he never got the opportunity to sign his works. However, Warhol’s Camouflage prints — an abstract yet iconic form — are an enduring testament to the artist’s obsession with a shared, mass-produced visual language. The Camouflage complete portfolio consists of eight screenprints that are printed on Lenox Museum Board. Each print is signed and numbered in pencil on verso by the executor of The Estate of Andy Warhol, with a stamped certificate of authenticity. The screenprints included in Warhol’s Camouflage complete portfolio are FS II.406 through FS II.413.

Edition of 200, 30 AP, 5 PP, 5 EP, 4 HC, signed and numbered in pencil as follows: The Star, The Witch, Howdy Doody-verso; Uncle Sam, Superman, Mammy, Dracula, Santa Claus, The Shadow-lower right; Mickey Mouse-lower left. All regular edition prints have diamond dust. Portfolio of 10 screenprints.

Created in 1981, Andy Warhol’s Myths Complete Portfolio consists of ten screenprints showcasing some of the most iconic fictional characters from the 20th century. Warhol expressed great interest in the world of celebrity, consistently drawn to the extravagance and glamor of Hollywood and the giants that dominated the industry. He portrayed a range of high-profile figures and icons: Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, Mao Zedong, and many more. The Myths collection, however, offers a fresh reading of the artist’s conventional themes, crossing into the realm of fiction with popular characters from history, literature, film, and television. Though these figures originate from various sources, they are alike in the way that they impacted whole generations at a level we can only imagine. Most of these figures are widely recognized symbols of childhood nostalgia and manufactured dreams, reminding us of careless weekends and golden mornings spent before the television.

Apart from their widespread relevance, each print in Myths also holds a personal connection to Warhol, shedding light on the incredibly influential yet enigmatic figure. Each one reveals a distinct facet of Warhol’s personality. His depictions of Santa Claus and Superman, for instance, link back to his childhood: one reflects his long-standing love for Christmas, and the other his appreciation for the archetype of the unlikely hero. Warhol suffered from an immobilizing illness as a child that diminished his strength and rendered him frail, thus he found comfort in the mild-mannered news reporter slash laser-shooting superhero Clark Kent. Uncle Sam, on the other hand, establishes the artist’s attachment to all things America. As one of the most quintessentially American artists of that time, his artworks embody cultural themes integral to post-war America, such as consumerism and the cult of celebrity.

The Myths complete portfolio includes FS II.258-267: The Star, Uncle Sam, The Witch, Mammy, Howdy Doody, Dracula, Mickey Mouse, Superman, Santa Claus, and The Shadow. The reference materials for some of these prints are Polaroid photographs of his friends in full costume and makeup. Others are still images from old Hollywood movies and television. Warhol enlarged the standard images and spruced them up with vibrant colors, tracings, and dynamic compositions. The series epitomizes the artist’s ability to distill American popular culture into powerful, evocative images and for this reason, has come to include some of Warhol’s most valuable and sought-after works.

MYTHS COMPLETE PORTFOLIO by ANDY WARHOL AS PART OF HIS LARGER BODY OF WORK

Myths exemplifies Warhol’s unerring sense for the powerful motifs of his time. The images portray the universal view of America’s once captivating and commanding past, comprised of characters loved by children such as Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus, as well as fictional figures like Dracula, The Wicked Witch of the West, and Uncle Sam. Each character in the Myths complete portfolio is meant to represent a different facet of Andy Warhol’s personality. Warhol created the collection in the early 1980s, arguably his most prolific period. He practiced and perfected his screen printing methods and produced other incredibly intricate works during this time, including the Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century and the Endangered Species series.

Andy Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians complete portfolio explores our imagination of the American West. I was printed in 1986 by Rupert Jasen Smith in New York. In this series, Warhol presents themes of American exceptionalism and the romanticism of the country’s history. The complete series is included in Warhol’s top 10 most valuable portfolios of all time.

Warhol interspersed recognizable portraits of well-known American “heroes”–John Wayne, Annie Oakley, Teddy Roosevelt, and General George Custer–with less familiar Native American images and motifs to present a commentary on the American mythology of the historic West. Rather than portraying Native Americans within their historical landscape or Cowboys in their veritable forms, Warhol chose to portray a popular, romanticized version of the American West. The West that he chose to represent is familiar to everyone and can be seen in novels, films, TV series. Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians suite serves as an ahistorical representation that mirrors a popular interpretation of the past. Warhol addresses similar themes of American exceptionalism and romanticism in his other works, such as his Ads and Myths portfolios.

Included in this portfolio are FS II.373-386: John Wayne, Annie Oakley, General Custer, Northwest Coast Mask, Kachina Dolls, Indian Shield, Mother and Child, Geronimo, Indian Head Nickel and Teddy Roosevelt.

Dollar Sign (9) 286 by Andy Warhol is one of two screenprints from Warhol’s 1982 Dollar Sign (9) portfolio. Dollar Sign (9) is also part of Warhol’s larger Dollar Sign collection, which includes many screenprints of the symbol. The portfolio explores Warhol’s interest in value, wealth, currency, and iconography that surrounds the symbolism of the dollar. Warhol, known for his imagery centered around commercial and celebrity imagery, subtly departs from such imagery in the Dollar Sign portfolio while still holding on to themes from prior works. Further, known for his quote, “I like money on the wall,” Warhol does just that with this portfolio.

In Dollar Sign (9) 286, Warhol illustrates the currency sign in warm, cool, and vibrant colors ranging from shades of orange, blue, green, and red. He arranges the symbols in a 3×3 array against a solid light blue background, depicting them in a comic-like style that results in a campy appearance. Departing from his usual artistic methods and source image references, Warhol created his own source image for this series. In a sense, we see Warhol return to his practice as a commercial illustrator by hand-drawing the large scale symbol.

The entire Dollar Sign collection comprises many iterations of the central motif. Originally a portfolio made up of six screenprints featuring only one dollar sign printed at a small scale, the series contains various scales and numbers of dollar signs on each print. Dollar Sign (1), Dollar Sign (Quad), and Dollar Sign (9) are all part of the larger collection. Notably, in all of these works, Warhol truly affirms his love affair with money. Famously, Warhol said that “making money is art,” a statement which attests to his self-proclaimed business artist persona.

Dollar Sign (9) 286 captures the essence behind the American symbol and embodies the connotations that come with it. The dollar sign is a universally recognized symbol that holds a commonly shared meaning among people. The powerful symbol evokes ideas of value, wealth, consumerism, commodification, and the ideology of the American dream. Ironically, Warhol made the portfolio during an economic downturn in the United States in the early 1980s.

Moreover, Dollar Sign (9) 286 also reflects Warhol’s relationship and attraction to wealth from a young age. Growing up with little means of income in industrial Pittsburgh, Warhol started illustrating imagery of money. He drew images of cash growing from trees and plants, exhibiting his fascination and desire for wealth. This fascination stuck with Warhol all throughout his career. “Say you were going to buy a $200,000 painting” Warhol said. “I say you take that money, tie it up, and hang it on the wall. Then when someone visited you the first thing they would see is money on the wall.”

Fascinated by wealth and commercialism, Warhol embodies both in Dollar Sign (9) 286. He captures the recognition and value placed upon the dollar sign, highlighting how it receives similar idolization as if it were a celebrity. Warhol, known for his celebrity portraits of Mick Jagger, Marilyn Monroe, and others, portrays the dollar sign in a similar, celebrated manner. Finally, Andy Warhol’s Dollar Sign (9) 286 is the artist at his most tongue-in-cheek, representing his art as the commodity it will become once landed in the art market.

Andy Warhol created Marx Brothers 232 in 1980 as part of the portfolio Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century. Chico Marx is at the top of the print with his brother Groucho in the middle and their brother Harpo on the bottom. The Marx brothers were known for their keen sense of comedy, which was successful in films, in vaudeville, and even on Broadway. The brothers starred in thirteen films, five of which were chosen by the American Film Institute to be in their list of the top 100 comedy films of all time. Because all three men died before Warhol created the series, the photo that this print was based off of is a still frame from the 1946 film A Night in Casablanca.

Marx Brothers is another example of Warhol’s fascination with stardom. Chico (1887-1961), Harpo (1888-1964) and Groucho (1890-1977) Marx garnered fame for their comedy acts throughout the early to mid 20th century. They were featured in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures. This kind of fame drew Warhol to them. The series itself has sparked controversy both nationally and internationally.

Andy Warhol created Mickey Mouse 265 in 1981 for his Myths series, which includes 10 screenprints of imaginary characters. His timeless fascination with celebrities and relentless exploration of fame were primary driving forces in his artistic career. Big names and faces pervade his artworks, from heirs to actors, scholars to athletes, Hollywood glamor girls to controversial political figures. The Myths series, while also spotlighting some of the most globally-recognized idols, does not adhere to the realm of reality. The subjects of these prints originate from the pages of beloved fantastical stories, allegorical tales, and ancient folklore, all widely popularized through media. Though each subject carries various cultural attributes, most are commercial icons essential to America’s entertainment legacy. The media’s power to bestow identity and individuality upon these fictional characters broadens our grasp of popular culture. As author Greg Metcalf put it, Warhol’s Myths series serves to remind us that “anyone (living or not, human or mouse) can be a cultural icon that sells, a celebrity. When celebrity is seen through its ability to sell, then being packaged to sell makes one a celebrity.”

Mickey Mouse 265 portrays one of the most merchandised faces in popular culture—Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse in his signature stance, off-centered, with his ever-recognizable, comically enormous ears occupying almost one-third of the frame. His bright red tongue and open-mouthed smile pop out against the print’s neutral tones. Subtle traces of pink and gold outline the figure’s face, a technique that Warhol frequently employed to highlight the subjects of his prints, as can be easily in series like Reigning Queens and Goethe. The print is inlaid with diamond dust, a glimmering substance that further enhances the treasured character’s glamor and charm. The black and white mouse, though simple in composition and color, instills a powerful sense of nostalgia and sentimentality among viewers. His beaming face and round jaunty ears instantly transport us to childhood reveries in front of the television.

Each print from the Myths series is said to represent a facet of Warhol’s personality. Mickey Mouse 265 not only reflects Warhol’s keen awareness of American popular culture, but also his personal aspirations. Warhol admired Mickey Mouse’s ubiquitous presence in the media and aspired to reach his level of influence and recognition. Warhol also cited consummate entrepreneur Walt Disney as one of his main artistic inspirations, praising both his creativity and aptitude for business.

Franz Kafka, the inspiration of Franz Kafka 226, is regarded as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century and of the absurdism genre. Kafka is famous for both short stories and novels, with much of his work published posthumously, despite his wishes for his work to be burned and unread. Some of his most famous works include The Trial and The Metamorphosis. Kafka's work became so influential that it inspired the creation of the word "Kafkaesque," when something evokes similar themes or scenarios that appeared in Kafka's writings. Warhol’s take on Kafka’s image uses a realistic quality in the portrait, while overlaying it with muted greens and blues and shading that accentuates his features, such as his eyebrows and ears, like that of a caricature.

Franz Kafka 226 is a part of Warhol’s Ten Portraits of Jews of the 20th Century. Warhol was prolific in his works depicting celebrities and was well known for his fascination with fame. It is noted that Warhol's portraiture tends to reveal only the surface of a subject, just their image. In this series of portraits, the type of celebrity Warhol deals with is not so glamorous or typical of his usual pick of movie or rock stars. Each portrait is of a very influential figure in either the arts, sciences, or law.

Chanel 345 is a screenprint by Andy Warhol created in 1985. The work depicts a bottle of Chanel perfume, and belongs to the artist’s Ads series, which features pop art renditions of popular advertisements of the 1980s.

A screen print born in 1985, Chanel 354 takes its regal seat in Andy Warhol’s Ads portfolio composed of 10 screen prints. The Chanel 354 is as rare as it is fabulous with only 190 edition prints of the perfume created. Reckoning back to his beginnings as an advertisement artist fresh out of college, Chanel 354’s lustrous bottle holds an irresistible feminine energy and appears to a buyer’s desire to acquire beautiful items and the aura of affluence. Chanel 354 is a testament to the fascination with attainable glamour that was a staple of Warhol’s “American Dream” philosophy depicted in his style that gained widespread commercial success from the appropriation of culturally prominent images and products.

Throughout his career, Warhol maintained his immortal-chic illusion not only with these recycled, glamorized images, but also with the curation of his own personal visage, which included a fascination with perfume. The artist considered perfume as a way to “take up more space;” he collected “semi-used bottles”, and was even buried with a bottle of Estee Lauder’s “Beautiful” when he died in 1987. Needless to say, Chanel 354 was inevitable.

In Chanel 354, Chanel No. 5’s luxurious scent practically wafts off the print page. The body of the bottle glows in vivid color against a dark gradient, making it look as if it could be picked off the page and spritzed. The bottle represents the Warholian theme of consumerism in pursuit of an opulent (Americanized) lifestyle to perfection, its message in synchronicity with the Chanel luxury brand to tempt the masses to indulge in just a sweet taste of richness. Chanel No. 5 remains as well-known as Andy Warhol’s works and was the signature scent of recurrent Warhol muse Marilyn Monroe, confirming that the Pop artist understood exactly the capitalistic society he both cleverly portrayed and attracted with his work.

Little speaks to Warhol’s obsession with consumerist culture better than his Ads portfolio, which was commissioned by Ronald Feldman of Feldman Fine Arts. The Ads portfolio is made up of Rebel Without a Cause (James Dean), Blackglama (Judy Garland), Paramount, Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan), The New Spirit (Donald Duck), Mobil, Apple, Volkswagen, Life Savers, and of course, Chanel 354.

Camouflage 412 by Andy Warhol is from his Camouflage portfolio of eight prints. They feature variations of the camouflage pattern mixed with Warhol’s signature use of bright colors. The Camouflage prints began rising in popularity as it held more significance with America’s continuing military involvement in the Middle East. He would vary the camouflage patterns and colors to give each print a unique and individual feel. This specific edition displays bright fluorescent pinks and hints of orange. Warhol’s use of color greatly opposed the traditional use of camouflage, which is typically used to help disguise and blend in with the environment. This particular print is one of the most colorful in the series, completely changing the meaning of camouflage in the traditional sense.

Warhol created this portfolio to focus on America’s military involvement in war. However, he also created a juxtaposition with his versions of camouflage designs. The bright color use greatly contrasted the origins of camouflage, which were meant to conceal. Andy Warhol introduced the opposition of disguise and identity. With this idea, the new camouflage attracted opportunities from the fashion industry. Bold colored camouflage soon became popular as it helped women stand out in urban settings.

Warhol created his Myths portfolio in 1981 to capture the imaginary characters popular during the 20th century in American popular culture. Most of the images in this portfolio are taken from 1950s television or old Hollywood films. In his Myths portfolio, Warhol takes these recognizable characters and portrays them in the eccentric fashion he used for all his images. They are brightly colored and some are also inlaid with diamond dust. Myths is one of the most sought after Warhol series.

John Wayne 377 (Unique) by Andy Warhol represents the macho leading man in Hollywood’s prime. He was a fixture in westerns and war movies alike and was considered an all-American hero. The source image is a publicity photo from the film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). In this image, the celebrity status of John Wayne completely overshadows the actor’s real identity. In the movie, a reporter takes the story of John Wayne’s character back to his editor and is told, “This is the West, sir; when the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” That’s what Warhol did in this series.

John Wayne (Unique) 377 by Andy Warhol as Part of his Larger Body of Work
In Cowboys and Indians, Warhol interspersed recognizable portraits of well-known American heroes with less familiar Native American images and motifs. It demonstrates his ironic commentary on America’s collective mythologizing of the historic West. Rather than portraying Native Americans within their historical landscape, Warhol chose to portray a romanticized version of the American West. The West that he chose to represent is familiar to everyone and can be seen in novels, films, and television series. Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians suite is an ahistorical representation that mirrors a popular interpretation of the American West.

Dollar Sign 274 is a one of six screenprints from Andy Warhol‘s 1982 series titled Dollar Sign, or “$”. Other prints in the series include the dollar sign in various colorations, like Dollar Sign 279 and 280. Other iterations of the Dollar Sign schema can be seen in Dollar Sign (Quadrant) and Dollar Sign (9), completed in the same year.

Andy Warhol loved money, and he reveled in painting the things he loved. In a way, the dollar sign symbol was a fated subject for the Pop artist to undertake. “I like money on the wall,” Warhol commented in his 1975 book, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol. “Say you were going to buy a $200,000 painting. I think you should take that money, tie it up, and hang it on the wall. Then when someone visited you the first thing they would see is money on the wall.” The dollar sign symbol is a Pop image through and through. In Dollar Sign 274, Warhol places capitalism at the forefront of modern art, observing how intertwined the two worlds are.

Dollar Sign 274 displays the subject in complementary colors, the dark symbol dusted with weathered texture and a deep red scrawl. Warhol created the symbol himself rather than using a photograph, which was a rare choice for him. As with many of the works in this portfolio, Dollar Sign 274 underscores its man-made components. Whether through scribbled sketches or painted signage, Warhol insinuates that the idea of money is an American commodity itself. In fact, the work implies that human hands are in constant contact with commerce in some shape or form. No matter if we are buying or selling, designing advertisements or glancing at them, we are always interacting with consumer culture.

The Pop Art movement shattered the barrier between high and low art. As Warhol said, “the Pop artists did images that anybody walking down Broadway could recognize in a split second—comics, picnic tables, men’s trousers, celebrities, shower curtains, refrigerators, Coke bottles—all the great modern things that the Abstract Expressionists tried so hard not to notice at all.” Pop Art was also about leaving things as they were, presenting them the way they existed in the real world. Consumer culture and currency were not often the subjects of modern art. Warhol made a momentous statement, then, by placing dollar signs on canvas. Something so significant to our culture deserved its place in art. Money reigned supreme in its sway over culture, and Warhol was not afraid to voice the truth. In addition, the world and its functions had changed. It was no longer based in agriculture, but industry and manufacturing.

Warhol saw a modern society before him, one dominated by the repetition of factory production and the almighty dollar. He wanted to portray the immensity and singularity of consumerism because that was what he saw around him. From the time he first began doing commercial art, he took notice of the way people interacted with products and advertisements. Americans loved to spend money and Warhol didn’t consider himself above consumer culture. He was an active part of it and often said he loved shopping himself, especially on Saturdays.

Dollar Sign 274 represents a subject Warhol loved most. Through placing the dollar sign front and center, he emboldens the viewer to confront its inescapable relation to both the art world and our daily lives.

Geronimo 384 is a screenprint from the Cowboys and Indians series. In this series, Warhol explores the Old West as an All-American collective history. Warhol’s work creates a commentary on mass media and the way in which contrived imagery can affect how we understand our history. Images of Geronimo, Annie Oakley and Mother and Child are based on characters in the Hollywood adaptation of our history and do not truly represent the roles that these real individuals historically played.

Warhol’s Camouflage 410 is part of his Camouflage portfolio of 8 screenprints features variations of the camouflage pattern with great use of a variety of bright, fluorescent colors. Warhol chose to work with this design because it was an abstract pattern that was also immediately recognizable. With the rising popularity of this print, Warhol was able to address its growing significance with America’s continuing military involvement in the Middle East. However, he took a different approach in producing camouflage patterns, which are typically used for disguise, by transforming them with eye-catching colors. This Camouflage print uses pink, orange, and purples, rather than the traditional green hues seen on military outfits.

Andy Warhol created the Camouflage portfolio to revolve around America’s military involvement in war; however, he also created juxtaposition with his variations of the camouflage designs. The use of vibrant colors greatly contrasts the origins of camouflage, which were meant to conceal. Warhol introduced the opposition of disguise and identity. With this idea, the new camouflage attracted opportunities from the fashion industry. Bold-colored camouflage soon became popular as it helped women stand out in urban settings.

Gertrude Stein, the influence behind Warhol’s Gertrude Stein 227, was an American writer of novels, poetry and plays that eschewed the narrative, linear, and temporal conventions of 19th-century literature. Stein was also known to be a fervent collector of Modernist art. She was born in West Allegheny Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, raised in Oakland, California. She moved to Paris in 1903, making France her home for the remainder of her life. For some forty years, the Stein home at 27 Rue de Fleurus on the Left Bank of Paris was a renowned Saturday evening gathering place for both expatriate American artists and writers and others noteworthy in the world of vanguard arts and letters, most notably Pablo Picasso. Entrance into the Stein salon was a sought-after validation, and Stein became combination mentor, critic, and guru to those who gathered around her, including Ernest Hemingway who described the salon in A Moveable Feast.

Gertrude Stein 227 is a part of Warhol’s Ten Portraits of Jews of the 20th Century. Warhol was prolific in his works depicting celebrities and was well known for his fascination with fame. It is noted that Warhol’s portraiture tends to reveal only the surface of a subject, just their image. In this series of portraits, the type of celebrity Warhol deals with is not so glamorous or typical of his usual pick of movie or rock stars. Each portrait is of a very influential figure in either the arts, sciences, or law.

Warhol created his Endangered Species portfolio of ten, brightly colored screenprints in 1983. He was commissioned by his friends Ron and Freyda Feldman to create the portfolio to raise awareness. Both Ron and Freyda were dedicated philanthropists and political activists. True to his pop art style, Warhol printed the animals in bright, vibrant colors. He fondly referred to them as his “animals in make up.”

Volkswagen 358, sometimes referred to as “lemon,” is a screenprint created by Andy Warhol for his Ads series in 1985, featuring an ad for a Volkswagen car that was published in 1960. Warhol portrays the iconic car in a vibrant green and yellow against a dark purple background that emphasizes the iconism of both the car and the advertisement itself.

The infamous ad depicted in Volkswagen 358 is commonly referred to as “Lemon,” or “the Lemon ad,” and it changed the advertising world during the mid 20th century. In the late 1950s, after World War II, Volkswagen (VW) was eager to sell their cars in America and compete with leading automotive brands. The obvious problem was that VW was created under Adolf Hitler’s direct supervision, and now the company needed to market their vehicles to thousands of veterans returning to the US (who were all buying cars at record rates). By referring to their car as a Lemon (a defective or cheaply made foreign car) VW presents a very counterintuitive and unexpected advertising campaign. The use of this self-deprecating humor proved to be extremely effective, though, and many have said that the Volkswagen ads of the late 50s and early 60s changed the marketing world forever.

The gist of the ad is basically this: VW presents what appears to be a brand new, spotless Volkswagen bug, then labels it a lemon. The copy goes on to say that VW’s cars are so carefully inspected, that even scratches that are hardly visible to the human eye are considered cause enough to return the car to the production line and replace the “defective part.” Such a genius and era-defining marketing campaign makes this advertisement perfect for Warhol’s Ads portfolio.

In Ads, Warhol explores how these widely recognized emblems, trademarks and logos have become symbolic to the American consumer. Volkswagen recently reproduced their iconic Beetle ad with their new electric van, suggesting, like Warhol, that their advertising is timeless. At first glance, Warhol’s inclusion of the German car among his other Ads prints is an interesting choice, as the reception of the Volkswagen Beetle in the United States was initially divisive. But it’s clear that Warhol created Volkswagen 358 with a clear understanding of the impact that VW made on the advertisement industry.

As much as Ads is a nostalgic collection of the most timeless images of the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, it’s also one that encapsulates Warhol’s pervasive infatuation with fame, glamour, and the culture around consumption habits. In the series, we see one of Warhol’s primary philosophies at work: “Being good in business is the best kind of art.”

Volkswagen along with the rest of the portfolio was commissioned and published by art dealer Ronald Feldman, who worked with Warhol on many projects in the 1980s. Alongside Volkswagen, the rest of the Ads portfolio includes Paramount, Mobilgas, Apple, Life Savers, Blackgama (Judy Garland), The New Spirit (Donald Duck), Chanel, Rebel Without a Cause, and Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan).

The Witch 261 is a print by Andy Warhol created in 1981 for the Myths series. Enthralled by the aesthetics of American popular culture, Warhol produced a remarkable number of artworks centered around Hollywood fame, from commissioned portraits to appropriated images of celebrities. While his obsession with celebrity culture endured, his subject matter expanded over the years to include athletes (who he called the “movie stars” of the 70s), politicians, and fictional characters. The Myths portfolio spotlights ten of the most iconic fictional characters since the turn of the 20th century. Some fight for the good of humanity as stalwart heroes; others cause mayhem as uncompromising villains. Though these figures may only exist in our imaginations, our most beloved bedtime stories, and favorite animated films, they altered the history of entertainment as prominent symbols of childhood nostalgia and manufactured dreams.

The Witch 261 depicts a woman with vibrant green skin dressed entirely in black. The source material for some of Warhol’s Myths prints were Polaroid portraits of people in costumes and makeup. The artist called upon Margaret Hamilton herself, the actress who portrayed the witch in the original 1931 film The Wizard of Oz, to recreate her pose for the basis of the print. Contrasting with the less-animated expressions of Uncle Sam and The Star, the Witch’s lips are curled back in a maniacal laugh. The plain purple background complements her lurid green complexion; additional traces of red and green outline her wide-brimmed hat and dark clothing, a technique Warhol used frequently to highlight the subject of his prints. The Witch 261 is inlaid with diamond dust, tiny crystals that further enhance the artwork’s value and glamor.

Ostensibly, each print in the Myths series represents a unique facet of Warhol’s birthday. The Witch 261 showcases the notorious Wicked Witch of the West, the most frightening ruler in all of Oz—a power-hungry sorcerer with a flair for the dramatic, who commands an army of flying monkeys and has an unusual intolerance to water. Warhol never explicitly stated his reason for including the witch in his Myths collection, though many believe his decisions were deliberate and meaningful. We can look upon the Myths series as a sort of introspective collection. They inform us on the way Warhol viewed himself in connection with the world around him.

George Gershwin (born Jacob Gershwine), as depicted in Andy Warhol’s George Gershwin 231, was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin’s musical repertoire ranged from popular to classical. Some of his most famous works, Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris, have been and are still widely used and heavily influential in pop culture, film and television. George Gershwin collaborated with his brother Ira to write music for Broadway theatre, and they continued to compose together for Hollywood films up until Gershwin’s untimely death in 1937.

George Gershwin is a part of Warhol’s Ten Portraits of Jews of the 20th Century. Warhol was prolific in his works depicting celebrities and was well known for his fascination with fame. It is noted that Warhol’s portraiture tends to reveal only the surface of a subject, just their image. In this series of portraits, the type of celebrity Warhol deals with is not so glamorous or typical of his usual pick of movie or rock stars. Each portrait is of a very influential figure in either the arts, sciences, or law. Other prints in the series include Albert Einstein, Golda Meir and Franz Kafka.

Camouflage (Unique) is a screenprint by Andy Warhol from the artist’s Camouflage series from 1987. Unlike the regular edition of the prints, this Camouflage is printed vertically, with a height of 40 inches and a width of 32 inches.

The Camouflage portfolio of 8 screenprints demonstrates Warhol’s play with the abstract, yet recognizable design in a variety of fluorescent, inorganic colors. Camouflage appealed to Warhol because it held this dual-significance of an abstract form that was familiar to the American population. He also wanted to address America’s continuing military involvement in the Middle East. Therefore, he opted to utilize the camouflage design as a dedication to their efforts in war. However, Warhol added his own Pop Art signature touch by using colors to transform a disguising pattern, into one of high attention.

Today, Camouflage is a common motif in fashion and design, though that wasn’t the case during Warhol’s time. In fact, Warhol’s ventures in camouflage extended directly to the fashion world in collaboration with designer Stephen Sprouse, when the two designed a series of clothing featuring Warhol’s camo design. Their barrier-breaking work paved the way for camouflage of all colors to be flaunted as streetwear today.

Andy Warhol introduced many dualities with his version of the Camouflage. The use of inorganic, synthetic colors paired with the organic shapes and forms in the abstract design presented juxtapositions between identity and disguise. While militants relied on the traditional camouflage pattern to help conceal them, the fashion industry favored Warhol’s camouflage use to help attract attention in the urban setting. This also paralleled Warhol’s lifelong balance between a life of fame he yearned for and the quiet, private life he also wanted to maintain.

Plains Indian Shield 382 by Andy Warhol is one of ten screenprints in his Cowboys and Indians Complete Portfolio. An additional four trial proofs were excluded from the final suite: War Bonnet Indian 373, Buffalo Nickel 374, Action Picture 375, and Sitting Bull 376 or A70.

As a child of the 1930s and 40s, Warhol grew up in the era of Western stars such as the Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, and John Wayne. In his youth, he was fascinated by the romance of the West created by the movies; in adulthood, he remained intrigued by the genre, and Western aesthetics influenced much of his artwork. Aside from the Cowboys and Indians portfolio, Warhol demonstrated his enduring interest in Americana themes with his Myths Complete Portfolio, his Elvis Presley paintings, and in films like Horse (1965), and Lonesome Cowboys (1968).

In the Cowboys and Indians portfolio, Warhol illustrates the clash between settlers and Native Americans with five prints representing the “Cowboys” and five representing the “Indians.” The symmetry of the portfolio presents the West as a setting of conflict and positions each print as an opponent. Warhol presents, in short, a theatrical version of the West; he has little interest in creating a historically accurate representation of the frontier days. Instead, Warhol attempts to mirror our imaginations of the West found in popular culture and media.

In Plains Indian Shield 382, Warhol depicts his own version of a traditional Native American shield. These shields were common among Great Plains tribes. Typically, indigenous groups made the shields from buffalo hides stretched over handmade wooden hoops. They were often adorned with feathers and illustrated with paintings of animals and geometric shapes. The shields served both practical and spiritual purposes.

Warhol visited New York City’s National Museum of the American Indian to photograph Native American artifacts for the Native-inspired prints in the Cowboys and Indians portfolio. These photographs were the basis of the Plains Indian Shield, the Northwest Coast Mask , and the Kachina Dolls.

In Plains Indian Shield 382, Warhol sketches the shield in a muted pop color palette of mustard, teal, and orange. He outlines the details in both black and white, giving the print a three-dimensional quality. His shield design features two buffalos facing each other with their heads meeting in the center of the circle. There is also an illustration of a bright orange feather hanging off of the shield.

With Plains Indian Shield 382, Warhol portrays a symbol of Native American culture in the style of the commercialized version of the West. Warhol contrasts the authentic and cinematic, and as a result, provides a striking look at the portrayal of Native American culture in popular media.

The Shadow 267 (Trial Proof) is part of Andy Warhol’s 1981 Myths series. In this piece, Warhol portrays himself as “The Shadow,” a popular radio crime fighter from the 1930s. The Shadow Radio Show was narrated by a mysterious character and crime fighter in order to boost the sales of the Detective Story Magazine, produced by the same company as the show. In Warhol’s take on “The Shadow,” the double portrait has him looking out at the viewer as well as in a darkened, shadowy profile.

Perhaps the question that the image begs of the viewer is one of the recurring lines from the show: “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?”

The Shadow 267 (Trial Proof) is a part of ten screenprints in the Myths series that exemplify Warhol’s unerring sense for the powerful motifs of his time. Most of images in Warhol’s Myths series are taken from 1950s television or old Hollywood films. They portray the universal view of America’s once captivating and commanding past. Other pieces included in the series are characters loved by children such as Mickey Mouse, Howdy Doody, and Santa Claus, as well as fictional figures like Dracula, The Wicked Witch of the West, and Uncle Sam. While each of these characters has a strong, sometimes unpleasant persona, they are distinctly separated from reality. It has been said that Warhol considered each of these characters to be facets of his personality. Each of the ten works in Warhol’s Myths portfolio represents a different archetype of American popular culture.

WARHOL MARTIN BUBER 228
In 1980, a publisher in Tel Aviv asked Warhol to create a portfolio of the ten most important Jewish figures of all time. Warhol created the series and fondly called them his “Jewish Geniuses.” Warhol selected Martin Buber (1878 – 1965), the famous Hasidic scholar and philosopher, to be represented in the series. Buber’s metaphysical writings, as well as his retelling of Hasidic tales have made him one of the most popular Jewish scholars of all time. His involvement in the founding of the State of Israel, also makes him, for many, one of the fathers of the modern Israeli state.

WARHOL MARTIN BUBER 228 AS PART OF ANDY WARHOL’S LARGER BODY OF WORK
Warhol became fascinated with a group of influential Jewish figures – a pantheon of great thinkers, politicians, performers, musicians and writers, including renowned philosopher and educator Martin Buber (1878-1965). Martin Buber’s famous portrait is featured alongside others such as Sarah Bernhardt, Louis Brandeis, Einstein, Sigmund Freud, George Gershwin, Franz Kafka, the Marx Brothers, Golda Meir, and Gertrude Stein in the Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century series. The collective achievements of these famous Jews changed the course of the twentieth century and may be said to have influenced every aspect of human experience.

Camouflage 408 by Andy Warhol is from his Camouflage portfolio of eight prints. They feature variations of the camouflage pattern mixed with Warhol’s signature use of bright colors. The Camouflage prints began rising in popularity as it held more significance with America’s continuing military involvement in the Middle East. He would vary the camouflage patterns and colors to give each print a unique and individual feel. This specific edition displays bright fluorescent pinks and hints of orange. Warhol’s use of color greatly opposed the traditional use of camouflage, which is typically used to help disguise and blend in with the environment.

Camouflage 408 by Andy Warhol as Part of his Larger Body of Work
Warhol created his Camouflage portfolio to focus on America’s military involvement in war. However, he also created a juxtaposition with his versions of camouflage designs. The bright color use greatly contrasted the origins of camouflage, which were meant to conceal. Andy Warhol introduced the opposition of disguise and identity. With this idea, the new camouflage attracted opportunities from the fashion industry. Bold colored camouflage soon became popular as it helped women stand out in urban settings. The portfolio is one of the last that Warhol created before his death in 1987.

ORANGUTAN 299

The Orangutan is native to Asian countries Indonesia and Malaysia, but due to the expansion of civilization and negative environmental factors, today they are only found in Borneo and Sumatra. The species is divided up into two, Bornean and Sumatran, based on their current habitats. Both continue to be listed as endangered, with the Sumatran orangutan categorized as critically endangered. They are extremely intelligent primates, which has provoked many humans to take them as pets, contributing to their fragile placement in the ecosystem.

ORANGUTAN 299 AS PART OF ANDY WARHOL’S LARGER BODY OF WORK

In 1983 Warhol was commissioned by his friend and publisher Ron Feldman and his wife Freyda to create the series of 10 endangered species. Both Freyda and Ronald were celebrated political activists who were very active philanthropists. In 1983, they asked Warhol to create a portfolio of ten endangered species to raise environmental consciousness. Warhol fondly referred to this series as his “animals in makeup,” given the bold pop colors he uses to portray the animals as large than life.The inspiration behind this series was to rise consciousness of environmental issues. Warhol fondly referred to this series as his “animals in makeup,” given the bold pop colors he uses to portray the animals as large than life.

Title: Pine Barrens Tree Frog 294
Medium: Screenprint on Lenox Museum Board.
Year: 1983
Size: 38″ x 38″
Edition: Edition of 150, signed and numbered in pencil. Portfolio of 10.

Andy Warhol created Pine Barrens Tree Frog 294 for his Endangered Species portfolio. The tree frog was listed as endangered from 1977-1983 and can only be found in three distinct areas in the Eastern United States. In 1983, Warhol was commissioned to create a portfolio of ten animals to raise awareness of endangered species by Ron and Freyda Feldman. Ron and Freyda were very active philanthropists. Also featured in this series are the San Francisco Silverspot, the Giant Panda, African Elephant and Grevy’s Zebra. In this print, Warhol created a larger than life image of the tiny tree frog that made this animal a pop art icon. The dark background is contrasted by the bright primary colors and clean white lines used to highlight the frog. This portfolio is widely sought after by collectors because of the use of bold colors by Andy Warhol, who fondly referred to this portfolio as his “animals in makeup.”

Dollar Sign 278 is a screenprint by Andy Warhol. Composed in 1982 as part of his Dollar Sign portfolio, Dollar Sign 278 encapsulates the essence of the series: a bold and conspicuous celebration of Warhol’s fascination with money. This series of prints has an unusually intimate style, containing a rarely hand-made source image and frenzied coloring. This choice suggests that there is more to the seemingly impersonal symbol than one might think.

Andy Warhol made no secret of his fascination with business, capitalism, and money. The Pop-Art movement he pioneered celebrated consumerism in its depictions of consumer goods and in its advertisement-inspired depictions of celebrities. He famously dubbed his studio “the Factory,” a name which accurately described the assembly-line style production that took place there. The subject matter and manufactory production of Warhol’s work blurred the lines between art and product. Further, Warhol himself was vocal about his belief that his art was a kind of business.

Warhol’s obsession with financial success may have been a result of his upbringing. Raised in Depression-Era Pittsburgh, Warhol understood the absence of luxury, and even money itself. For the Warhola family, making money was necessary for survival. We see this sentiment reflected in Warhol’s reverence for entrepreneurship. “Good business is the best art,” he said, famously, in The Philosophy of Andy Warhol. This philosophy was certainly present in his mass-production of art, in which he created and sold prints at high volumes. Moreover, it is notably present in what Warhol chose to depict. The universally recognizable Campbell’s Soup series presents commodities themselves as art, and argues that there is art in consumerism and consumption.

The Dollar Sign portfolio takes this a step further. While earlier Warhol masterpieces celebrated the commodity as art, Dollar Sign celebrates the dollar, itself, as art. This echoes Andy Warhol’s idea of “money on the wall,” perhaps best summed up in this quote from The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: “Say you were going to buy a $200,000 painting. I think you should take that money, tie it up, and hang it on the wall”. In Warhol’s extreme celebration of consumerism, money has the same artistic meaning as anything it could purchase.

Andy Warhol chose to color the symbol green, unmistakable recognizable as the color of money. Thus, this print one of the most upfront and eye-catching in the portfolio. Stripped-down to the most provocative and recognizable motifs, Dollar Sign 278 perfectly captures the honesty and the starkness of Warhol in his later years.

The Blackglama 351 Trial Proof is a unique version of Andy Warhol’s Blackglama print from his Ads series, published in 1985. The work depicts famous actress Judy Garland in a red coat against a yellow background, contrasting with her dark hair.

Warhol was inspired by Judy Garland’s advertising campaign for Blackglama Fur company and their ubiquitous tagline “What becomes a Legend most?” Many legends of style and pop culture have modeled for the company over the years, including Diana Ross, Bridget Bardot, Lauren Bacall, Julie Andrews, Ray Charles and Marlene Dietrich. Known for her starring role in the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, Judy Garland was described by Fred Astaire as “the greatest entertainer who ever lived.” She also had major roles in movies like Meet Me in St. Louis (1945) and had a brief marriage to American director Vincente Minnelli.

Warhol began his career as a commercial illustrator in the 1950s. Warhol’s fascination with the commercial world continued throughout his career as an artist. As a result, he created the Ads portfolio based on popular advertising campaigns and logos in contemporary American culture. These advertisements were not simply a means to sell products, but had become an integral part of American culture. Warhol included the Paramount, Apple and Mobilgas logos in the Ads series, as well as advertisements that featured well known celebrities, such as Ronald Reagan for Van Heusen apparel.

The Shadow 267 is one of ten screen prints from the Myths (1981) portfolio by Andy Warhol. Warhol is best known for his celebrity portraits featuring the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy, and more. The Myths collection, however, diverges from Warhol’s traditional work, showcasing various fictional characters that exist only in our fears and fantasies. These characters originate from the pages of our beloved bedtime stories and allegorical tales, as well as our favorite films and television shows. Some are great heroes, others the evilest of villains; some possess supernatural abilities, while others reside in an entirely separate universe; the common thread is that none of them adhere to reality. Still, the portfolio remains aligned with the artist’s fixation on fame and stardom, as the subjects of these prints are icons integral to 20th-century American popular culture. One of the ten prints is unlike the rest: Warhol uses an image of himself to make The Shadow 267.

The Shadow 267 fuses two of Warhol’s most consistent themes: the cult of celebrity and self-image and identity. Warhol portrays himself as “The Shadow,” a masked vigilante fighting crime in 1930s New York—the protagonist of an American radio program that operated from 1937 to 1954. The print depicts a double portrait: an image of the artist staring blankly to the side, his lips parted, while his elongated shadow looms ominously behind him. His face appears on the right in washes of deep red, striking but occupying only one-third of the portrait, while his dark silhouette blankets the rest of the frame. The harsh line dividing the two figures further accentuates the distinction between Warhol and his shadow, almost as if his sense of self were split into two halves—one half rendered in a warm red, while the other in a barren grey. Warhol’s signature can be seen in pencil in the lower right corner.

It is said that Warhol considered each of the Myths characters to embody specific attributes of his personality. The artist never explicitly stated the deeper meaning behind the work, but some speculate that the dramatic shadow represents his mysterious and enigmatic public persona, countered against his inner self. Like the radio crime-fighter who adopts numerous identities, Warhol conceals his true nature from the public. Although he does not wear The Shadow’s signature cloak or broad-rimmed hat, Warhol inserts himself into his pantheon of American icons with Shadow 267.

Andy Warhol’s Dollar Sign portfolio from 1982 was the ultimate manifestation of his love affair with money. Warhol once said, “I like money on the wall,” and the Dollar Sign portfolio was his way of using this iconic imagery to achieve just that. The sketchy quality of the image makes a subtle, yet notable reference to comic strips. Dollar Sign is a superb example of Warhol seizing a universally recognizable symbol, infusing color and repetition, and transforming it into a Warholian symbol.

Mammy 262 by Andy Warhol is one of ten screenprints from the Myths portfolio created in 1981. Warhol’s enduring grip on popular culture inspired collections of consumerist and celebrity imagery that made him famous, featuring the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jagger, and iconic commodities like Campbell’s soup. The artist ventured out in terms of subject matter to portray political and community leaders, professional athletes, scholars, inventors, and iconic fictional characters. The Myths collection expands the artist’s interests in the preservation of fame. Straying from the realm of reality, the series depicts globally-recognized figures from old Hollywood films, Walt Disney cartoons, folklore, classic literature, and more. Though these characters derive from numerous sources, they share a common thread in that they transformed the world of entertainment in tremendous ways. Their fame and ubiquity have withstood the test of time, as they remain integral to the intricate legacy of 20th-century American popular culture.

Mammy 262 depicts the outlines of a woman with striking turquoise eyes and golden hoop earrings. Like with Uncle Sam 259, Warhol invited a sitter to embody Mammy: former director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art, Sylvia Williams. Her ruby lips match the warm colors of her embellished headband and she regards the viewer with a gentle smile. Set against a plain black background, the subject is rendered entirely in muted gestural lines. Unlike some of Warhol’s prints that spotlight colorful figures against equally vivid backgrounds, such Santa Claus and The Witch, Mammy blends into the shadows. The print is decorated with diamond dust, a material Warhol used frequently to enhance the mystique and luster of his artworks. His signature can be seen in the bottom right corner.

“Mammy” does not refer to a distinct character, but a historical archetype—the positive maternal black woman, the devoted caregiver. She appears in various mediums including Victor Fleming’s Civil War drama Gone With the Wind (1939) and Harriet Bleecher Stowe’s anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852). The subject had massive popular appeal, but also a personal association with the artist: each image in the Myths series represents a facet of Warhol’s personality. While Warhol never explicated his reasons for including Mammy 262 in his collection, he possessed an unerring sense of the zeitgeist of his time and understood the importance of her role. Though there are powerful racial controversies surrounding the Mammy caricature, the character dominated American television and is an essential player in Warhol’s narrative of popular culture.

Grevy’s Zebra 300 by Andy Warhol is one of ten pieces from his Endangered Species portfolio, which premiered in 1983. Warhol was commissioned by environmentalists and gallerists Ronald and Frayda Feldman to depict 10 endangered animals, bringing attention to their fragility. The US federal government had passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973, making clear criteria for assigning the status of “endangered” to animals that had seen massive attrition of their populations. This designation has been adopted internationally and Warhol’s Endangered Species series represents this, consisting of a fairly diverse and cosmopolitan array of organisms.

Grevy’s Zebra 300 stands in as one of the avatars of Africa, joined also by the Black Rhinoceros and African Elephant. Specifically, the Grevy’s zebra is indigenous to parts of Kenya and Ethiopia, and is named after President of the Third Republic of France, Jules Grévy, who was gifted such a zebra by Abyssinian officials. It is one of three zebra species, besides the plains and mountain varieties.

What’s immediately striking about Grevy’s Zebra 300 is Warhol’s use of red. Though the zebra retains a bit of its natural black-and-white markings near its flank, its neck, mane, and head show a robust red that replaces the white. The red also plays a role in the classically Warholian drawn outline that follows the zebra’s body and stripes, being present on the right side of the frame, but gradually transitioning from red to orange and yellow, and finally, white as it progresses left. The dimensionality of the zebra is reduced, threatening to flatten it to a series of lines and stripes. The zebra is erased and abstracted, akin to the loss of the animal in the wild. The only thing that brings it into focus is its teal background, providing a relational and, paradoxically, complementary contrast. Environment (habitat) and organism (species) mutually afford each other.

Grevy’s Zebra 300 is undoubtedly a Warhol masterpiece, created in the 1980s when Warhol reached the peak of his skills. The work is quintessential to the artist’s evolving Pop Art techniques. Endangered Species is one of Warhol’s most cherished series, and has become especially beloved by collectors in recent years.

Van Heusen 356 by Andy Warhol is a screenprint from the artist’s Ads series, published in 1985. The series depicts ten famous images from mass media from the latter half of the twentieth century, as Warhol re-imagines popular and effective advertisements and propagandist media. Ads was commissioned and published by Ronald Feldman, a politically-minded art dealer who worked with Warhol on many of his projects in the 1980s.

This portrait of former President Ronald Reagan looks a little bit different than the one that would have hung in the White House Hall. In fact, Van Heusen 356 is a screenprint that takes Reagan’s likeness from before he was president. An actor first, Reagan worked as a film star until the mid-60’s and even served a “term” as an ambassador for Van Heusen shirts. The print hops off of the page like a 3D comic illustration, and despite the outline following the original advertisement, Warhol presents it with a dystopian cast. The anaglyphic Reagan’s light, cheerful countenance juxtaposed with the bold, slogan print holds an intensity that evokes a new color TV. Above, in a strip of photos not unlike a film roll, a paranormal-esque Ronald Reagan follows directions and twists, twirls, bends, and curls, the no-wrinkle shirt.

Warhol’s career began in the 1950’s as a commercial illustrator when Reagan was still regularly on the big screen. A Democrat, Warhol initially tried to avoid creating portraits of Ronald Reagan. However, close friend and business associate Bob Colacello (a Republican) first pushed Warhol to the idea years before Ads when trying to cunningly position the artist to do a portrait by speaking with Reagan prior to an agreement from Warhol. Years down the road, it would seem that the Van Heusen print was not the only work that pointed to a Ronald Reagan influence, regardless of the initial opposition. Reagan was also the host of television series “General Electric Theatre,” the logo of which Warhol used ample times in his oeuvre. With Ronald Reagan’s trifecta of being an actor, a 1950s household name, and the then-most well-known politician of the age… nothing could stand in the way of Warhol eventually depicting the notable in one manner or another.

As a whole, Warhol’s Ads series fully encompasses the artist’s obsession with celebrity, fame, and nostalgia. The portfolio explores the most recognizable of faces, slogans, and products throughout the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s—sometimes with a twist. But as always, Warhol saw well-known images as ripe for recreation, and a great opportunity to attract the eyes of his society. The rest of the Ads portfolio includes Paramount, Mobilgas, Apple, Life Savers, Blackgama (Judy Garland), The New Spirit (Donald Duck), Chanel, Rebel Without a Cause, and Volkswagen.

John Wayne 377 (Unique) by Andy Warhol represents the macho leading man in Hollywood’s prime. He was a fixture in westerns and war movies alike and was considered an all-American hero. The source image is a publicity photo from the film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). In this image, the celebrity status of John Wayne completely overshadows the actor’s real identity. In the movie, a reporter takes the story of John Wayne’s character back to his editor and is told, “This is the West, sir; when the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” That’s what Warhol did in this series.

John Wayne (Unique) 377 by Andy Warhol as Part of his Larger Body of Work
In Cowboys and Indians, Warhol interspersed recognizable portraits of well-known American heroes with less familiar Native American images and motifs. It demonstrates his ironic commentary on America’s collective mythologizing of the historic West. Rather than portraying Native Americans within their historical landscape, Warhol chose to portray a romanticized version of the American West. The West that he chose to represent is familiar to everyone and can be seen in novels, films, and television series. Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians suite is an ahistorical representation that mirrors a popular interpretation of the American West.

Mother and Child 383 by Andy Warhol is a screen print portrait depicting an anonymous Native American mother with her child asleep against her back. Mother and Child 383 is part of Warhol’s 10-piece Cowboys and Indians portfolio, representing figures and objects related to the Wild West. Cowboys and Indians explores a romanticized “Old American West” through fragmented depictions of Native Americans, Cowboys, and heroes of the American Frontier.

Mother and Child 383 portrays an indigenous mother with her child innocently asleep on her back, cheek resting against the crux of her neck. Their amaranth skin pops against the stark white background; the fabrics of their clothes also stand out while maintaining an earthy and naturalistic style; Warhol accents semi-precious turquoise and cherry red fabric with sketched outlines of yellow and patches of blue. The red and blue also add a reflective highlight on the family’s jet black hair, but it comes from a nonexistent light source. What appears to be a white earring and necklace defines the mother’s square chiseled jawline while whites brighten the topmost layer of her fabric. Overall the image appears pixelated, inciting a potential association between the indigenous family and the media’s warped interpretation of their identity.

Warhol perfects texture in Mother and Child 383. Black shading defines the different layers of intricately woven and fringed fabrics. It adds incredible depth that is sometimes minimal in Warhol’s other portraits.

Andy Warhol always loved Westerns since childhood. Devising enough money, he would watch Old Western films at the cinema and eventually directed two of them himself. He was in the majority with many Americans, who loved how Westerns provided gun slinging excitement and patriotism for the country. This portfolio is yet another one of his tributes to the Old West and its role in pop culture, though unlike the formulaic storyline of Western films, he explores common interpretations of this side of American history.

Mother and Child 383 is vague and purposefully so. Without a contextual background, Mother and Child 383 identifies a partial abstraction of their history by modern mass media and pop culture. This gap was often filled with Western bias and a romanticized nationalist influence, which other works in the series—like General Custer 379 and Teddy Roosevelt 386—embody. They are supposed heroes of the Old West, though they had known hostility against Native Americans. Warhol’s succinct but loving depiction between the Indigenous mother and child further comments on an incongruous viewpoint of America’s past.

Warhol claimed that series such as Cowboys and Indians were done with emotional neutrality. “If you want to know all about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings and films and me, and there I am. There’s nothing behind it.” People may disagree with this blaise overtone, but Warhol’s self-commentary was never that straightforward.

Mother and Child 383 is one of the most profound works in Cowboys and Indians. With it’s anonymity, fragmentation from person and place, and textural nuances, Warhol illuminates the impacts of pop culture on our interpretation of historical events. Overall, the series is a masterful display of Warhol’s use of Pop Art to decontextualize images and symbols, effectively presenting them in a way that confronts the audience with their own preconceived notions of such subjects.

Apple 359 is a screenprint created by Andy Warhol that has appropriated the logo for Macintosh Computers. The logo, which is now as ubiquitous as the fruit itself, maintains the original design and rainbow color scheme. However, Warhol adds his trademark sketched lines and vibrant hues to give the original design an unmistakably Warholian influence.

The Apple screenprint hails from Warhol’s Ads series, published in 1985 by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts. The portfolio comprises iconic advertising imagery from the 1950s through the 1980s, showcasing famous ads from the likes of Chanel, Life savers, and Disney.

Commissioned by Del Yocam, Apple’s very first COO, Apple 359 came just one year after the first Macintosh model was released by the electronics company. It was well-timed as Warhol’s famously commercialistic style no doubt made an imprint on buyers everywhere. Though the Pop-Artist’s version of the starring apple of the Macintosh brand mirrors that of the original emblem, the work still incorporates Warhol’s flamboyant flair. The apple, alive with color, is a rainbow layered over a background that resembles something of clouds in a sunset. A playful canvas for a seriously successful business, the Macintosh legacy looks as if it was written in crayon.

Andy Warhol met Apple’s founder Steve Jobs in 1985, the year of Apple 359’s genesis. It was Sean Lennon’s ninth birthday party and everyone sat around and explored the magic of Macpaint on a Macintosh model Sean received as a gift from Jobs. Warhol wrote in his diaries of the event: “I said that once some man had been calling me a lot wanting to give me one, but that I’d never called him back or something, and then the kid looked up and said, ‘Yeah, that was me. I’m Steve Jobs.’ And he looked so young, like a college guy. And he told me that he would still send me one now… I felt so old and out of it with this young whiz guy right there who’d helped invent it.” Jobs clearly didn’t feel slighted as he taught Warhol how to paint on the model that same evening.

Alongside Apple, Warhol’s Ads portfolio reinvents the most notable of emblems, trademarks, and logos and speaks to the subconscious influence branding has on American consumption patterns. At its center, the portfolio is an exploration of pop culture and how celebrity becomes even more celebrity through branded imagery. Made up of iconography from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, Ads encompasses Mobil Gas, Blackgama, Chanel, Rebel Without a Cause, Paramount, Van Heusen, Volkswagen, Life Savers, and of course, Apple.

This version of Andy Warhol’s General Custer print is a trial proof from Andy Warhol’s 1986 Cowboys and Indians series. The portfolio explores the relationship between the media’s romanticized take on the Old American West and it’s duplicitous effect on correctly understanding history. The portfolio features America’s favorite legends of the Old American West like Annie Oakley and John Wayne; political and wartime figures like Custer; and significant Native American heroes including Sitting Bull. Cowboys and Indians was part of a fecundity of portfolios created by Warhol that year, but this one emerged as one of the most distinguished (and valuable) he ever created.

General Custer, notorious as the “top Indian fighter”, was a commander of the Union Army during the American Civil War and fought against Indigenous Americans during the American Indian Wars. He died at The Battle of the Little BigHorn at the hand of Sioux leader Sitting Bull and his Plains Indians army. In the 19th century and most of the 20th century, General Custer received fantastic public relations. Well received when he was alive, his death transformed him into even more of a mythicized American hero. His wife wrote memoirs of his charitable deeds such as Boots and Saddles, and breweries like Anheuser-Busch used the famous painting “Custer’s Last Stand” in their advertising campaign. But by the late 20th century, his fraudulent morals and war tactics lost him credibility by most accounts.

General Custer is based on an original black and white image circa 1865, the last year of the Civil War. He dons the trademark Union general uniform with a hat and scarf. The crisp and lightly creased blouse is adorned with yellow embellishments of his rank. Overall, it is simple, regal, and contrasts the naturalist clothing of the Native Americans in the series. His mustache and beard accentuate a strong chin.

Warhol had always been obsessed with the Old American West. He even made two of his own Western films. Then again, much of America was obsessed with the genre. The Western represented exciting ways of showing patriotism, and it’s protagonists had an unwavering devotion to their country.

According to Southwest Contemporary, Phillip French, author of Westerns: Aspects of a Movie Genre, believes that Westerns have “three cardinal aspects” which stylize the genre. These include the oversimplification of complex issues into clearcut “good vs evil,” practicing cinematic “virtuosity” through reshaping conventional norms, and misdating aspects of the supposed time period. All this is to say that while Westerns were loved, they were not mimetic of history. To be successful in Hollywood, they needed to show exceptional drama and simplicity.

General Custer (like the other figures and objects in the series) visually takes inspiration from this traditional Western plot. By separating the person with place in General Custer 379, Warhol removes vital historical integrity. Through the beautiful vibrant colors and fine details, however, Warhol’s pop art style keeps a level of coherence about the figures while adding stylistic drama to engage viewers. Antagonizing forces are shown together in Cowboys and Indians, specifically Custer and Sitting Bull, making blatant commentary about the misperceived truth of either individual’s life history, but our continued fascination by both.

Though Warhol never claimed his support for either the politicians or heroes of the Old West, or the Native Americans, he included both (who’ve been subject to different opinions throughout history), to show their historical importance, as well as the way they exist in the American imagination. The series is controversial, thought provoking, and remains one of Warhol’s greatest series.

Camouflage (Trial Proof) is a screen print by Andy Warhol from 1987. The work was published as part of the artist’s Camouflage portfolio, which includes eight different colorful designs of a typical camouflage pattern.

Camouflage (Trial Proof) cannot camouflage its greatness. This screenprint stems from Andy Warhol’s Camouflage portfolio, the last series created before his untimely passing. As a trial proof, the vibrant piece never made the cut to be considered as part of the final collection, enhancing the rarity of the one-of-a-kind design. Camouflage was born when Jay Shriver, Warhol’s artistic assistant, invited Warhol to join him in exploring a new technique: painting through fabric. Acquiring an authentic camo print from a military surplus store, a marriage of a familiar pattern and intoxicating pigmentation was consummated, expanding Warhol’s relationship with abstract expressionism. While camouflage traditionally represents the necessity to blend in, the artist’s version vibrates with color, likening itself to a runway print more than a uniform. In fact, Warhol’s ventures in camouflage extended directly to the fashion world in collaboration with designer Stephen Sprouse and their barrier-breaking work paved the way for camouflage of all colors to be flaunted as streetwear today.

Always dabbling in the philosophical, Warhol seized the opportunity to redefine the meaning of camouflage with his abstract-adjacent style in the Camouflage series. Going so far as to layer the pattern with his own portrait in 1986, the King of Pop Art poses a meaningful challenge to its viewers: how do we mask ourselves in everyday life? In that same year, Warhol also used a camouflage design in the making of his Joseph Beuys in Memoriam print.

Before his passing, Warhol did leave behind a completed Camouflage collection consisting of eight transfer paintings, but without signing and printing his works. To lay the brilliance of the iconic artist’s final endeavor to rest, Rupert Jasen Smith printed the series, now bearing the name and stamp of authenticity of the executor of The Estate of Andy Warhol. Not without melancholy, Camouflage (Trial Proof) serves as a reminder of the utter uniqueness of Andy Warhol to the very end.

Unlike Warhol’s other series, in which trial proofs can be identified easily by the singular image they depict, this Camouflage trial proof using the same design as two of the regular edition Camouflages (408 and 409), but completely different colors. Therefore, it may be categorized as FS.IIB408, FS.IIB409, followed by its edition number.

Warhol created his Myths portfolio in 1981 to capture the imaginary characters popular during the 20th century in American popular culture. Most of the images in this portfolio are taken from 1950s television or old Hollywood films. In his Myths portfolio, Warhol takes these recognizable characters and portrays them in the eccentric fashion he used for all his images. They are brightly colored and some are also inlaid with diamond dust. Myths is one of the most sought after Warhol series.