| Presentation | Signed and numbered Edition of 250 |
|---|---|
| Created | 1986 |
| Size | 36×36 |
| Medium | Screen print on Lenox Museum Board |
| Signed | Yes |
| Genre | Pop |
Northwest Coast Mask by Andy Warhol
Northwest Coast 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
Northwest Coast Mask by Andy Warhol
Northwest Coast Mask is a screenprint from the series Cowboys and Indians. In this series, Warhol explores the Old West as an All-American collective history. Pursuing his fascination with the dichotomy between appearance and reality, Warhol’s work is a commentary on mass media and the way in which contrived imagery can affect how a society understands and perceives its history.
The Cowboys and Indians series is exemplary of how Andy Warhol utilized heavily embedded images derived from popular culture. Images like Northwest Coast Mask and Kachina Dolls, represent tokens of native culture, whereas figures like Geronimo, Annie Oakley and Mother and Child are based on characters in the Hollywood adaptation of our history, which do not truly represent the roles that these individuals historically played. 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 and TV series. Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians Suite is an ahistorical representation that mirrors a popular interpretation of the American West.
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.
