Andy Warhol—
From A to B and
Back Again
Nov 12, 2018–Mar 31, 2019
Hand-Painted Pop
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In the early 1960s, Warhol—along with artists such as Rosalyn Drexler, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, and James Rosenquist—began exploring the signs and symbols of postwar America, creating the movement that came to be known as Pop art. He began to make paintings of subjects in mass circulation, such as front-page headlines, cartoons, and advertisements, astutely selecting images ranging from singular and iconic to humorous and campy.
“I was never embarrassed about asking someone, literally, "what should I paint?" because Pop comes from the outside, and how is asking someone for ideas any different from looking for them in a magazine?”
Superman, 1961
Andy Warhol, Superman, 1961. Casein and wax crayon on canvas, 67 × 52 in. (170.2 × 132.1 cm). Private collection. © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Superman © and ™ DC Comics, courtesy DC Comics. All rights reserved
Warhol’s depiction of Superman is based on a drawing by Kurt Schaffenberger from the comic Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane (April 1961). Warhol’s decision to use Superman as a subject may offer a biting commentary on the heroic machismo associated with Abstract Expressionist “action” painting, or a queer reading of the Man of Steel, or both. Warhol displayed Superman and four other paintings shortly after they were made in a window display at the Bonwit Teller department store (below), where he and many other artists produced window displays.
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On view in the exhibition:
Andy Warhol, Where Is Your Rupture? [1], 1961. Water-based paint on canvas, 69 1⁄2 × 54 in. (176.6 × 137.2 cm). The Broad Art Foundation, Los Angeles. © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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On view in the exhibition:
Andy Warhol, Before and After [4], 1962. Acrylic and graphite on linen, 72 1/8 x 99 3/4 in. (183.2 x 253.4 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from Charles Simon 71.226. © 2018 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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On view in the exhibition:
Andy Warhol, 129 Die in Jet, 1962, acrylic and graphite on linen, 100 ¼ x 71 7/8 in. (254,5 x 182.5 cm). Museum Ludwig, Cologne. © 2018 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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Andy Warhol, window display at Bonwit Teller department store, New York, 1961. © Estate of Nathan Gluck. Courtesy of Luis De Jesus, Los Angeles
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Spotify Playlist
Pop Pop Pop-Pie: Music from Warhol's Studio, 1960-65
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Related section 2
Related Artworks
From the Collection