ANDY WARHOL (American, 1928 – 1987)
CHANEL (F. & S. II.354)
Screenprint in colors, 1985, signed in pencil and numbered edition of 190, from Ads, on Lenox Museum Board, with the blindstamps of the printer, Rupert Jasen Smith, and the publisher, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., New York, and with the publisher’s inkstamp on the verso, framed
sheet: 965 by 966 mm 38 by 38 in
PRICE: on request
Andy Warhol’s “Chanel” print from his 1985 Ads portfolio exemplifies his fascination with advertising and its role in shaping contemporary culture. Warhol’s early career as a commercial illustrator, where he produced advertisements and window displays for fashion brands like I. Miller and Glamour magazine, deeply influenced his later art. “I started as a commercial artist, and I want to finish as a business artist,” Warhol famously stated, reflecting his embrace of commercialism and the blending of high art with mass media. The Chanel No. 5 bottle, a symbol of luxury and timeless style, is rendered in Warhol’s iconic screen-printing technique, amplifying its status as a cultural icon. Glamor and fashion were central to Warhol’s career, as seen in his numerous portraits of celebrities and his relationship with figures like Diana Vreeland and the fashion house Halston. By turning a simple advertisement for perfume into art, Warhol highlighted the seductive power of consumerism, blending beauty and branding in a way that paralleled his entire body of work. His quote, “I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They’re so beautiful. Everything’s plastic, but I love plastic. I want to be plastic,” encapsulates his view of glamor as both artifice and allure, a perfect metaphor for the fashion industry’s influence on his art.
