PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Toronto

LITERATURE
Frayda Feldman and Jörg Schellman, Andy Warhol Prints: A Catalogue Raisonné 1962 - 1987, fourth edition, 2003, reproduced page 69, catalogue #11.27

Andy Warhol was a pioneer of Pop Art who changed the way we saw the world. His images from American culture of mass consumerism, presented with utter simplicity, made us become aware and examine that world, from everyday consumer objects such as the Campbell’s soup can to incendiary stars such as Elvis, Liz Taylor, Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe.

Monroe died in August of 1962, and after her death, Warhol made paintings of her based on a publicity still from the 1953 film Niagara. He had an eye for an unforgettable image, and was fascinated with Monroe and the obsession that the media had with her. She was glamorous, vulnerable, talented and tragic—and Warhol had a predilection for themes of death and the cult of celebrity. Much of her posthumous fame was focused on her as a tragic heroine, but Warhol’s vibrant paintings of such a dynamic still captured her hypnotic energy, a modern-day Mona Lisa.

In 1967, Warhol established a print-publishing business, Factory Additions. Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn) (F.S.II.27) was the first series of screenprint portfolios of his signature celebrity subjects. This extraordinary screenprint is from a portfolio of 10 images of Monroe, executed five years after her passing, each one printed in different colour combinations. He used the same publicity still of Monroe from Niagara that he had used previously for his paintings of the actress. Most of the silkscreens, with the exception of a silver and black one, were brilliant in colour.

In this image, set against a vivid pink background, Monroe’s enigmatic visage takes centre stage, her features bathed in a soft, greenish hue with pink accents adorning her eyelids and mouth. Warhol's deliberate use of colour imbues the composition with a sense of vibrancy and dynamism, drawing the viewer’s gaze towards the famous actress’s mesmerizing presence and extraordinary star power. The larger-than-life dimensions of the print, measuring 36 x 36 inches, further amplify the impact of Monroe’s likeness, enveloping viewers in her timeless allure. Marilyn Monroe is one of Warhol’s most iconic images—transcending borders, languages and generations and gazing into the psyche of our modern-day pop culture.

The catalogue raisonné states that the edition is of 250, signed in pencil and numbered with a rubber stamp on verso; some are signed in ballpoint pen, some initialed on verso, and some dated. There are 26 artist's proofs, signed and lettered A to Z on verso. The printer is Aetna Silkscreen Products, Inc., New York, and the publisher is Factory Additions in New York.

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