Muhammad Ali by Andy Warhol
Muhammad Ali by Andy Warhol – Andy Warhol’s Muhammad Ali Portfolio from 1978 is made up of four screenprints of Muhammad Ali. These images of Muhammad Ali by Warhol are among the most sought after works of the 20th century.
Looking at Muhammad Ali, one can almost hear the boxer’s famous, defiant statement — “I am the greatest!” Executed in 1977, Warhol’s picture of Muhammad Ali shows the boxer at the height of his fame and talents. At that point he was — for the third time — the World Boxing Association Heavyweight Champion. After more than a decade of professional bouts, he remained able to stun his opponents with his agility, winning fight after fight. Warhol has chosen to portray this giant of boxing, this sporting hero, in a combative pose; the raised fists are the tools of his trade, the attributes, his only necessary paraphernalia — they are the raw materials with which the boxer made his name and reputation.
Muhammad Ali is presented here as a Pop icon, a god of the modern age, a contemporary hero and significantly, he is presented as a contemporary black hero, marking Warhol’s detached yet significant participation in the race politics of his day. This is one of the first major celebrations of a black hero in American art, and as such in part prefigures the paintings of Warhol’s protegé, Jean-Michel Basquiat, who would become determined to place black heroes at the centre of art, having noticed to what extent they had been neglected or excluded for centuries prior to that. Even the presence of the African-American in art thanks to George Bellows had been relatively fleeting and had occurred over half a century earlier.
Artwork

Muhammad Ali 181 by Andy Warhol
Muhammad Ali 181 by Andy Warhol

Muhammad Ali 180 by Andy Warhol
Muhammad Ali 180 by Andy Warhol

179 Muhammad Ali by Andy Warhol
179 Muhammad Ali by Andy Warhol

Muhammad Ali 182 by Andy Warhol
Muhammad Ali 182 by Andy Warhol
Exhibitions
Related News
-
Andy Warhol: Cowboys and Indians
-
Andy Warhol Flowers Portfolio
-
Andy Warhol: Unpublished Prints
-
The Ad Series by Andy Warhol
-
Myths Series by Andy Warhol
-
Decades of Diamond Dust: Warhol, Hirst, and Young
-
Mao: The Complete Portfolio by Andy Warhol
-
Andy Warhol : In A Flash
-
Warhol: From Outsider to Influencer
-
An Art History of Andy Warhol
-
Campbell’s Soup Complete Portfolio I and II by Andy Warhol
-
Andy Warhol’s Mick Jagger Series
-
Andy Warhol Endangered Species
-
Marilyn Monroe Portraits by Andy Warhol
-
Late Paintings by Andy Warhol
-
Andy Warhol: From Beethoven to Jagger
-
Love by Andy Warhol
-
Andy Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians
-
Warhol: The Last Decade
-
Presenting Marilyn Exhibition
-
Andy Warhol’s Moonwalk, 1987
-
Andy Warhol’s Ads Portfolio
-
Andy Warhol Watercolors & Drawings Exhibit
-
Andy Warhol Flower Paintings
-
Andy Warhol A La Recherche Du Shoe Perdu
-
Guy Hepner New York Now Open in Soho