Andy Warhol
American, 1928–1987
Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn) [Reversal Series], circa 1978
Screenprint in black on Curtis Rag paper
Image: 18 1/4 × 14 1/8 in. (46.2 × 36 cm)
Sheet: 22 3/8 × 17 3/8 in. (56.8 × 44.2 cm)
Rare unpublished proof; there was no formal edition
Printed by Rupert Jasen Smith, New York
Stamped with the © Andy Warhol Enterprises, Inc. 1978 inkstamp verso
Catalogue Raisonné:
Frayda Feldman and Jörg Schellmann, Andy Warhol Prints: A Catalogue Raisonné 1962–1987, New York, 2003, no. IIIA.3, p. 230 (another impression illustrated).
Provenance:
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, New York
Michael Haber / Wooster Projects, New York
Private Collection, Europe
Auction History:
Sotheby’s, London, Contemporary Day Auction, June 25, 2025, Lot 399
Estimate: £100,000–£150,000
Location: Vienna, Austria
Price: on request
About the Work
Among Andy Warhol’s many interpretations of Marilyn Monroe, the Reversal Series occupies a particularly fascinating position. Rather than repeating the brilliant Pop colors associated with his celebrated 1960s Marilyns, Warhol inverted the familiar photographic image, transforming Marilyn into a dramatic negative of deep black and exposed white.
Executed circa 1978, this example is especially unusual. It is not part of Warhol’s familiar editioned Marilyn portfolios, but rather a rare unpublished proof from an uneditioned group of impressions, printed in New York by Rupert Jasen Smith. The work bears the © Andy Warhol Enterprises, Inc. 1978 inkstamp on the reverse and is catalogued under Feldman & Schellmann IIIA.3.
The resulting image is at once immediately recognizable and strikingly different from Warhol’s conventional Marilyn imagery. By reducing the portrait to an almost photographic negative, Warhol transforms one of the great icons of celebrity culture into something darker, more enigmatic and remarkably contemporary.
This particular impression was offered at Sotheby’s London in its June 2025 Contemporary Day Auction, where it carried an estimate of £100,000–£150,000.
Combining Warhol’s most celebrated female subject with the scarcity of an unpublished Reversal proof, the work represents an unusual opportunity for collectors seeking a Marilyn outside the considerably more common editioned portfolios.
Condition information, additional photographs and further documentation are available upon request.
