Why are Andy Warhol paintings so expensive?
The answer might lie in the artist's philosophy regarding art. Andy Warhol believed that art could and should be mass produced and that art could be made out of everyday objects. This was a radical new idea in the art world; because art was seen as something elevated and not connected to the everyday life of people.
What was Andy Warhol most expensive painting?
The highest price ever paid for a Warhol painting is US$105 million for a 1963 canvas titled Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster); his works include some of the most expensive paintings ever sold. A 2009 article in The Economist described Warhol as the "bellwether of the art market".
Why did Andy Warhol take self portraits in drag?
Warhol’s self-portraits give us an insider’s look into the artist’s personal sphere. From his youthful photobooth moments to his dramatic silkscreen self-portraits, the changing images allow us to observe his lifelong experimentation and to understand his cultural fixations. Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, 1986, The Andy Warhol Museum ...
Why does Andy Warhol like art?
Pop artists, like Andy Warhol, proposed that popular art should gain equivalent respect as well. Popular culture is not as vulgar or superficial as someone criticized. On the contrary, city culture and commercial culture can be excellent ingredients of art performances. Therefore, pop artists created pop art movement.
How did Warhol create Marilyn Diptych?
Marilyn Diptych was the first painting in which Warhol used the assembly-line technique of silk-screening photographic images onto a canvas, permitting him to create many versions of a single subject, instead of hand painting. Like everyone else in America, Warhol was attracted to American movie stars like Monroe.
What techniques did Andy Warhol use for Marilyn Diptych?
The silkscreen process allowed Warhol (or his assistants) to reproduce the same image over and over again, using multiple colors. Once the screens are manufactured and the colors are chosen, the artist simply spreads inks evenly over the screens using a wide squeegee.
What is the form of Marilyn Diptych?
PaintingScreen printingMarilyn Diptych/Forms
Why was the Marilyn Diptych made?
When Marilyn Monroe happened to die that month, I got the idea to make screens of her beautiful face the first Marilyns.” Half of the Marilyn diptych was heavily pigmented while the other half was colored in black and white. Overall, the work was a commentary on the relation between Monroe's life and death.
What did Andy Warhol use for Marilyn Monroe?
Andy Warhol – White Marilyn, 1962, signed, dated and inscribed 'To Eleanor Ward Andy Warhol/62' (on the reverse), acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen, 20 x 16 in.
How did Warhol make his prints?
While Warhol didn't invent the photographic silkscreen process, he developed his own technique by combining hand-painted backgrounds with photographic silkscreen printed images to create unique works of art.
Why did Andy Warhol print the above images of Marilyn Monroe in this order?
Why did Andy Warhol print the above images of Marilyn Monroe in this order? It suggests the sequential images of film, the medium that made Monroe famous.
What does the Marilyn Diptych represent?
The use of two contrasting canvases for Marilyn Diptych illustrates the contrast between the public life of the star, who at the time was one of the most famous women alive, and her private self.
What is a diptych painting?
A diptych is an artwork consisting of two painted or carved panels.
How did Andy Warhol create his silk screens of Marilyn Monroe?
Using photo-stencils in screen-printing, Warhol uses photographic images for his screenprints. The screen is prepared using a photographic process, and then different color inks are printed using a rubber squeegee to press the paint onto the painting through the screen.
What materials did Andy Warhol use?
He used photographic silkscreen printing to create his celebrity portraits. This meant he could directly reproduce images already in the public eye, such as publicity shots or tabloid photographs. The technique also allowed him to easily produce multiple versions and variations of the prints.
What was the purpose of Andy Warhol's work?
American Pop artist Andy Warhol was one of the most significant and prolific figures of his time, his works exploring the connection between celebrity culture and artistic expression.
What is Andy Warhol's diptych?
Andy Warhol's Marilyn Diptych is made of two silver canvases on which the artist silkscreened a photograph of Marilyn Monroe fifty times . At first glance, the work—which explicitly references a form of Christian painting (see below) in its title—invites us to worship the legendary icon, whose image Warhol plucked from popular culture ...
What is Warhol's subject?
Warhol takes as the subject of his painting an impersonal image. Though he was an award-winning illustrator, instead of making his own drawing of Monroe, he appropriates an image that already exists. Furthermore, the image is not some other artist’s drawing, but a photograph made for mass reproduction.
How does Warhol's silkscreen process work?
The silkscreen process allowed Warhol (or his assistants) to reproduce the same image over and over again, using multiple colors. Once the screens are manufactured and the colors are chosen, the artist simply spreads inks evenly over the screens using a wide squeegee. Though there are differences from one face to the next, these appear to be the accidental byproducts of a quasi-mechanical process, rather than the product of the artist's judgment. Warhol's rote painting technique is echoed by the rigid composition of the work, a five-by-five grid of faces, repeated across the two halves of its surface.
How big is Marilyn Diptych?
As in the work of these older artists, the monumental scale of Marilyn Diptych (more than six feet by nine feet) demands our attention and announces the importance of the subject matter.
How does Warhol's mask affect Monroe's life?
In that case, by repeating Monroe’s mask-like face, he not only drains away her life, but also ours as well, by deadening our emotional response to her death.
What is Ghostly Symmetry?
Aside from radically changing our notion of painting, Warhol's choices create a symmetry between the artist and his subject, who each seem to be less than fully human: the artist becomes a machine, just as the actress becomes a mask or a shell.
Was Andy Warhol influenced by pop culture?
Not only pop culture. With sustained looking, Warhol’s works reveal that he was influenced not only by pop culture, but also by art history—and especially by the art that was then popular in New York.
What is the Marilyn Monroe diptych?
The Marilyn Diptych ( 1962) is a silkscreen painting by American pop artist Andy Warhol depicting Marilyn Monroe. The monumental work is one of the artist's most noted of the movie star. The painting consists of 50 images.
Who bought Marilyn Diptych?
The artwork was bought by art / design show organizer / collector Emily Hall Tremaine out of Warhol's studio in 1962, among several other noted early works by Warhol. This work was sold to the Tate Gallery in 1980. Over the years, Marilyn Diptych has been in numerous exhibitions, including Witty, Sexy, Gimmicky: Pop 1957-67 at Tate Modern, ...
When was Marilyn Monroe's diptych painted?
Marilyn Diptych was completed just weeks after Marilyn Monroe 's death in August 1962. Silk-screening was the technique used to create this painting. The twenty-five images on the left are painted in color, the right side is black and white. The Marilyn Diptych is in the collection of the Tate.
Who painted Marilyn Monroe?
Marilyn Diptych. The Marilyn Diptych ( 1962) is a silkscreen painting by American pop artist Andy Warhol depicting Marilyn Monroe. The monumental work is one of the artist's most noted of the movie star. The painting consists of 50 images.
How did Andy Warhol create the painting?
The painting was created by using a silk-screening process. Warhol used this procedure by using a woven mesh and stencils to transfer paint onto an enamel canvas.
Who painted Marilyn Monroe?
Marilyn Diptych. Marilyn Diptych is a masterful piece of art completed in 1962. Created by one of the most influential American painters, Andy Warhol used this painting to pay homage to the iconic Marilyn Monroe. The 50 images of the actress’ face created an unforgettable artistic portrayal.
Is there a correlation between Marilyn's life and the distorted images?
The viewer is prompted to question the differences, but Warhol insists that there is no correlation between Marilyn’s life and the distorted images . Marilyn Diptych remains one of the most well-known pieces of art of our time. The critically acclaimed painting immortalizes a figure that was on her own larger than life.
Display caption
Warhol made his first paintings of Marilyn Monroe soon after the actor died of a drug overdose on 5 August 1962. Warhol used a publicity photo for her 1953 film Niagara as the source image.
Catalogue entry
T03093 MARILYN DIPTYCH 1962 Both canvases inscribed on back ‘Andy Warhol/62’ Acrylic on canvas (diptych), each panel 80 7/8×57 (205.4×144.7); overall dimensions 80 7/8×114 (205.4×289.4) Purchased from Mr and Mrs Burton Tremaine through the Pace Gallery, New York (Grant-in-Aid) 1980 Prov: Mr and Mrs Burton Tremaine, New York and Meriden, Conn.
What is Warhol's subject?
Warhol takes as the subject of his painting an impersonal image. Though he was an award-winning illustrator, instead of making his own drawing of Monroe, he appropriates an image that already exists. Furthermore, the image is not some other artist’s drawing, but a photograph made for mass reproduction. Even if we don’t recognize the source (a publicity photo for Monroe’s 1953 film Niagara ), we know the image is a photo, not only because of its verisimilitude, but also because of the heightened contrast between the lit and shadowed areas of her face, which we associate with a photographer’s flash.
How does Warhol's silkscreen process work?
The silkscreen process allowed Warhol (or his assistants) to reproduce the same image over and over again, using multiple colors. Once the screens are manufactured and the colors are chosen, the artist simply spreads inks evenly over the screens using a wide squeegee. Though there are differences from one face to the next, these appear to be the accidental byproducts of a quasi-mechanical process, rather than the product of the artist’s judgment. Warhol’s rote painting technique is echoed by the rigid composition of the work, a five-by-five grid of faces, repeated across the two halves of its surface.
What is the significance of Warhol's Marilyn Diptych?
Warhol & Pop Art. Warhol’s Marilyn Diptych exemplified everything that Pop art was, thanks to its explicit reference to Marilyn Monroe, who was an icon of pop culture. Pop art started its movement in London thanks to an independent group of artists attracted to advertisements that depicted American mass culture and materialism.
Why is Andy Warhol so famous?
Andy Warhol was a major figure in art. It is because of Andy Warhol and his contributions to the art that the world is still fascinated by pop and modern art styles. Andy Warhol has become such a mainstay of modern art that in 2013, one of his pieces sold for 105 million dollars 4 at a Sotheby’s auction. Born to Slovakian immigrants, Andy did not ...
What is Andy Warhol's style of work?
It is also said that through his distinctive style of work, Warhol referred to a society in which individuals were seen as mere products rather than human beings. Andy Warhol – Marilyn Monroe, 1967, screenprint in ...
How much did the Lemon Marilyn sell for?
Estimated at $4-6 million, it set a new record at $17.3 million for the highest price paid for a Warhol 11. On May 16, 2007, Lemon Marilyn sold for USD 28,040,000 at Christie’s 12, 112,160 times its original price. On May 13, 2014, White Marilyn, 1962 sold for $41 million at Christie’s 13.
What was the primary subject of British pop 3 art?
In this regard, everything mass culture, whether music, ads or dance became the primary subject of British pop 3 art. Warhol’s Marilyn Diptych would therefore not have existed without British pop art to inspire it.
Where was Andy Warhol's sitter?
It was in Studio 54, the ultimate Manhattan nightclub that made headlines during the 1970s, that Warhol found many of his celebrity sitters. Still, none were ever as famous or as seemingly important as Marylin Monroe was to Andy Warhol and his career. Andy Warhol’s screen prints of Marilyn Monroe at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, ...
Who painted Marilyn Monroe?
Case in point, Warhol painted Marilyn just two weeks after she had committed suicide. In his other piece, Liz Taylor was created when she was gravely ill 10. On the other hand, Red Jackie was painted after JFK’s death while another one, Blue Jackie utilized an image from the funeral.

Overview
The Marilyn Diptych (1962) is a silkscreen painting by American pop artist Andy Warhol depicting Marilyn Monroe.
The monumental work is one of the artist's most noted of the movie star.
The painting consists of 50 images. Each image of the actress is taken from the single publicity photograph from the film Niagara (1953). The underlying publicit…
Analysis
It has been suggested that the relation between the left side of the canvas and the right side of the canvas is evocative of the relation between the celebrity's life and death. The work has received praise from writers such as American academic and cultural critic Camille Paglia, who wrote in 2012's Glittering Images lauding how it shows the "multiplicity of meanings" in Monroe's life and legacy.
Appropriation and fair use
Warhol is regarded as an artist known for the appropriation of images and he often made use of publicity photographs and publicly available photographs and motifs not owned by him, which often brought him into conflict with the owners of the source material. An example of this is Warhol's Marilyn series including the Marilyn Diptych, which resulted in a settlement with the owner of the Marilyn Monroe publicity photograph which he used as the source material for the …
Warhol is regarded as an artist known for the appropriation of images and he often made use of publicity photographs and publicly available photographs and motifs not owned by him, which often brought him into conflict with the owners of the source material. An example of this is Warhol's Marilyn series including the Marilyn Diptych, which resulted in a settlement with the owner of the Marilyn Monroe publicity photograph which he used as the source material for the …
See also
• Gold Marilyn Monroe, another 1962 work by Warhol featuring Monroe
External links
• Analysis of Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe Series (1967), including Maryiln Diptych (1962)