| Presentation | Signed and numbered Edition of 250 |
|---|---|
| Created | 1986 |
| Size | 36×36 |
| Medium | Screen print on Lenox Museum Board |
| Signed | Yes |
| Genre | Pop |
Bonnet Indian by Andy Warhol
Bonnet Indian by Andy Warhol
In 1986 Andy Warhol created the Cowboys and Indians portfolio. In this portfolio, Andy Warhol depicts the popular version of American Western history. Strategically placing icons such as General Custer, Annie Oakley and Geronimo together in one portfolio, these ten silkscreens by Andy Warhol are intended to challenge and expose the controversies surrounding America’s perception of cowboys and indians.
Description
Bonnet Indian by Andy Warhol
In 1986, the year before his death, Andy Warhol continued his appropriation of classic American icons and images with his “Cowboys and Indians” series, a portfolio of screenprints representing traditional figures and figureheads of the American West.
Bonnet Indian is a continuation of Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians portfolio in which he interspersed recognizable portraits of well-known American “heroes”–John Wayne, Annie Oakley, Teddy Roosevelt, and General George Custer–with less familiar Native American images and motifs in his ironic commentary on Americans’ collective mythologizing of the historic West. Rather than portraying Native Americans within their historical landscape or Cowboys in their veritable forms, Warhol chose to portray a popular, romanticized version of the American West. The West that he chose to represent is familiar to everyone and can be seen in novels, films, TV series. Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians Suite is an ahistorical representation that mirrors a popular interpretation of the American West.War Bonnet Indian is a fine example of Warhol’s aesthetic intent in its reduction of an entire heritage and way of life into a single “trademark” image.
Andy Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians series is a fascinating amalgamation of imagery that Warhol felt was heavily associated with and defined the American West. The series included images of objects related to native culture, like Northwest Mask and Kachina Doll. The series also included portraits of historical notoriety, like Geronimo and Annie Oakley.
Andy Warhol created the Cowboys and Indians series during the mid-1980s, arguably his most prolific period. During this time, Warhol was forming bonds with a number of younger artists in the New York art scene including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Julian Schnabel and David Salle. Warhol saw a re-emergence of critical and financial success during this period of his life.
Andy Warhol was an American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. Andy Warhol’s works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement that flourished by the 1960s. Andy Warhol’s Marilyn and Andy Warhol’s Soup Cans are some of the most recognized and collectible of his artworks. From Andy Warhol Paintings to Andy Warhol Prints and unique pieces, the artist’s works are available for sale from Guy Hepner.
