Andy Warhol published the Marilyn Monroe complete portfolio in 1967. It comprises ten silkscreen prints depicting the infamous actress in Warhol’s signature Pop Art style. The series is one of the artist’s most famous works of all time, and among his most valuable portfolios ever sold. The 1960’s marked the beginning of Andy Warhol’s cultural dominance. His iconic depictions of American products like Campbell’s Soup and Coca-Cola bottles made him a household name, and a lightning rod for controversy. However, his celebrity depictions are arguably what made his style an effective cultural force—one that’s still universally recognized today. The most significant of these works is certainly the Marilyn Monroe portfolio. Here, Warhol famously created “an icon out of an icon,” immortalizing the actress forever. As in the majority of Warhol’s portfolios, all ten screenprints are based on a single image, manipulated in different ways. For the Marilyn prints, he used a publicity photograph taken by Gene Korman for Monroe’s 1953 film Niagara. Warhol’s decision to use the photograph began an early controversy about his use of copyrighted material and his artistic integrity; a conversation which would surround many of the artist’s most notable pieces. Nonetheless, such works helped acquaint audiences with a signature part of Warhol’s style: the ability to transform a famous image; to simultaneously celebrate and parody cultural iconography.


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