Andy Warhol Skulls, 1976 FS II.157 features a sketch of a human skull overlaid with swaths of orange, gray, brown and magenta. The print is one of a portfolio of four Warhol created based on photographs his assistant took. In the works, Warhol experiments and plays with how light hits the skulls and affects their shadows. Skulls throughout art history often represetn 'memento mori' or symbols of death. They serve as a reminder of the shortness of life and that death is inevitable. Warhol was shot and almost killed in 1968, and his art shifted after this event to explore darker subjects. Death as a concept was something Warhol began to explore through his art. His Skulls portfolio is an example of not only his thematic shift but also his constant practice and work in trying to better himself as an artist.

Created in 1976, this work is a screenprint on Strathmore Bristol paper, hand signed by Andy Warhol in pencil in the lower left image.  Numbered from an edition of 50, aside from 10 Artist Proofs marked 'AP.'

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

Andy Warhol Skulls, 1976 FS II.157 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonné and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the sale of the work).

1. Feldman, Frayda and Jörg Schellmann, A Catalogue Raisonne, 4th ed. Listed as catalogue raisonné no. II.157 on page 97.
2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.

About the Framing:

Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Andy Warhol Skulls, 1976 FS II.157 is presented in a complementary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.