ANDY WARHOL

Marilyn Monroe Portfolio

The Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn) full suite was printed in 1967 by Aetna Silkscreen Products, Inc., New York. A portfolio of ten screenprints on paper with 250 signed in pencil and numbered with a rubber stamp on verso. Some of these prints are initialled on verso and some are dated. Also there are 26 AP signed and lettered A-Z on verso. Included in this suite are FS II.22 through FS II.31.

The Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn) full suite are screenprints that make up one of Andy Warhol’s most recognized portfolios. Known for his fascination for the glitz and glamour that fame offers, Warhol used film star Marilyn Monroe as one of his earliest muses. The image of Monroe that Warhol used is based off of a publicity shot for her 1953 film Niagara, the photograph was taken by Gene Korman. The decision to use the publicity photograph as the basis of his series sparked much controversy and provoked conversation as to how much an artist can appropriate a ready made motif before it becomes a legal issue. Warhol recognized how famous she was as an actress, and was interested in how her fame grew exponentially after her tragic death in August 1962. By making this portrait of Monroe, Warhol immortalized the actress in an almost propagandist nature. It has been said that Warhol created an icon out of an icon.