Shadow
38 x 38 inchesThe Shadow
(F&S II. 267), 1981
color screenprint with diamond dust on Lenox Museum Board
38 x 38 inches
edition of 200
signed "Andy Warhol" and numbered by the artist in pencil lower right
stamped in black on the verso "© ANDY WARHOL 1981 PUBLISHER RONALD FELDMAN FINE ARTS, INC. NEW YORK"
with the printer's chop mark bottom right recto
printed by Rupert Jasen Smith, New York
published by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., New York
Provenance
Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., New York
Literature
Frayda Feldman and Jorg Schellmann, Andy Warhol Prints: A Catalogue Raisonne: 1962-1987, Fourth Edition, D.A.P., New York, 2003, Catalogue Reference F&S II. 267; another impression reproduced in color page 119.
Additional Photos
Full Sheet
Signature & Edition number lower right
Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc. stamp verso
When Andy Warhol created his now famous Myths Series in 1981, Warhol tackled the question of who are the American myths of the twentieth century? Although Warhol spent the bulk of his career celebrating icons and images of celebrities, to create the Myths Series, Warhol choose images that captured and captivated us in modern culture the way gods and goddesses captivated the masses in ancient Rome.
ANDY WARHOL THE SHADOW
When Andy Warhol created his now famous Myths Series in 1981, Warhol tackled the question of who are the American myths of the twentieth century? Although Warhol spent the bulk of his career celebrating icons and images of celebrities, to create the Myths Series, Warhol choose images that captured and captivated us in modern culture the way gods and goddesses captivated the masses in ancient Rome. Since the beginning of his career, Warhol had a preternatural gift for elevating and transforming banal objects, including soup cans, dollar bills and coca cola bottles, some of the many Pop Art objects that Warhol sought to elevate into symbols of the modern world. For the Myths Series, Warhol was more explicit in his intentions to identify the gods of modern American culture.
Self-Portrait (The Shadow), 1981
unique Polaroid photograph
3 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches
In a world obsessed with pop culture, the five Myths Warhol selected were famous 20th Century cinematic personalities, including Superman, Mickey Mouse, Dracula and The Wicked Witch of the West. Others he selected for his Myths Series were the ubiquitous Santa Claus, Uncle Sam, Howdy Dowdy and Mammy. However, one of the ten Myth Series images he chose to celebrate was at the time, not as recognizable, the image of Andy Warhol himself as The Shadow.
To create The Shadow, Warhol created a profile of a shadow largely reminiscent of the one used by master of suspense filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock:
With this self-portrait, Warhol neatly inserts himself into the pantheon of American icons and clearly in the forty years since he created the iconic image of The Shadow, Warhol has been elevated to instant international mythic status. Warhol was always fascinated with his self portrait image and created many versions of himself in the 60's, 70's and 80's, sometimes in straight forward perspective while other times more harangued when he fashioned a self portrait of himself being strangled.
For The Shadow self portrait, Warhol created an image in which the Artist's shadow rather than his face is the main focus of the work, demonstrating he is ironically aware that people are obsessed with the idea of him rather than who he is as a person. Andy Warhol The Shadow, 1981 screenprint was executed in an edition of 200 with 30 AP's as part of the Myths portfolio of ten screenprints. In addition, Warhol created other versions of The Shadow both on canvas as well as a small group of unique screenprints on Lenox Museum board, each created in a unique color combination.
