Andy Warhol
INDIAN HEAD NICKEL FS II.385
1986

About the Item

Screenprint on Lenox museum board. From the Cowboys And Indians Portfolio. Hand-signed and numbered in pencil, lower left. Edition 128/250 (there were also 50 artist's proofs). Published by Gaultney, Klineman Art, Inc., New York. Printed by Rupert Jasen Smith, New York. Feldman & Schellmann II.385. The artwork is in excellent condition. All reasonable offers will be considered. Indian Head Nickel 385 depicts the famous and rare five cent coin with the image of a Native American on one side and a buffalo on the other. The Taft administration commissioned James Earl Fraser, as sculptor who had done many portraits of Native Americans, to design the coin. The coin does not represent any specific person but rather the iconic imagery of traditional Native American figures and their importance in U.S. history. Warhol created Indian Head Nickel 385 in 1986, the year before his death, as he continued his appropriation of classic American icons and images with his “Cowboys and Indians” series, a portfolio of ten graphic screenprints representing traditional figures and figureheads of the American West.

Creator:
Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987, American)
Creation Year:
1986
Dimensions:
Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Width: 36 in (91.44 cm)
Medium:
Board,Screen
Movement & Style:
Pop Art
Period:
1980-1989
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Aventura, FL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU725314199812
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Shop All Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol

The name of American artist Andy Warhol is all but synonymous with Pop art, the movement he helped shape in the 1960s. He was phenomenally prolific, and the archive of original photography, prints, drawings, paintings and other art that he left behind is beyond vast.

Andy Warhol is known for his clever appropriation of motifs and images from popular advertising and commercials, which he integrated into graphic, vibrant works that utilized mass-production technologies such as printmaking, photography and silkscreening. Later in his career, Warhol expanded his oeuvre to include other forms of media, founding Interview magazine and producing fashion shoots and films on-site at the Factory, his world-famous studio in New York.

Born and educated in in Pittsburgh, Warhol moved to New York City in 1949 and built a successful career as a commercial illustrator. Although he made whimsical drawings as a hobby during these years, his career as a fine artist began in the mid-1950s with ink-blot drawings and hand-drawn silkscreens. The 1955 lithograph You Can Lead a Shoe to Water illustrates how he incorporated in his artwork advertising styles and techniques, in this case shoe commercials.

As a child, Warhol was often sick and spent much of his time in bed, where he would make sketches and put together collections of movie-star photographs. He described this period as formative in terms of his skills and interests. Indeed, Warhol remained obsessed with celebrities throughout his career, often producing series devoted to a famous face or an object from the popular culture, such as Chairman Mao or Campbell’s tomato soup. The 1967 silkscreen Marilyn 25 embodies his love of bright color and famous subjects.

Warhol was a prominent cultural figure in New York during the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. The Factory was a gathering place for the era’s celebrities, writers, drag queens and fellow artists, and collaboration was common. To this day, Warhol remains one of the most important artists of the 20th century and continues to exert influence on contemporary creators.

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