(Pittsburgh 1928–1987 New York)
Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn), 1967, signed on the reverse Andy Warhol, coloured screenprint on paper, 91.4 x 91.4 cm, no. 106 from the edition of 250 (edition stamp on the reverse), printer Aetna Silkscreen Products, Inc., New York, editor Factory Additions, New York, framed

Provenance:
Galerie Burkhard Eikelmann, Düsseldorf
European Private Collection - acquired from the above

Literature:
Frayda Feldman/ Jörg Schellmann, Andy Warhol Prints,
A Catalogue Raisonné 1962–1987, München 2015, II.25, p. 68 (colour ill. - another example)

With the “Marilyn Monroe” portrait series, Andy Warhol created an iconic Pop Art portfolio that would become one of his most significant works alongside the “Campbell Soup”. Warhol’s protagonist for this series was Marilyn Monroe, icon of the film industry and archetypal sex symbol of the 20th century. Monroe is just as famous today as Andy Warhol. A press photograph taken by the film producer Gene Korman in 1953, during the shooting of the film “Niagara”, was reproduced by Warhol in different colour variations. The colour manipulation means Monroe appears in different guises.

The series was published after Monroe’s untimely death in 1962. As a consumable piece of work by Warhol, it gave the public continued access to the the late film icon. The juxtaposition of portraits illustrates the lack of identity of female celebrities whose faces have been used countless times in films and adverts, a concept entirely in keeping with Warhol’s principle of repetition as an artistic device. In the process, art becomes a commodity – and the commodity becomes art. This progressive artist produced his works at a time when mass media and advertising were increasingly present in people’s everyday lives. Many artists were drawn towards this zeitgeist and formed a visual language that reflected the opulence of society at the time. It was Andy Warhol especially who got to the heart of this consumerist culture and is today synonymous with Pop Art.