ArtFacts.net uses data across different art institutions and the global art market to create a ranking of the most ‘successful’ artists in the world. Andy Warhol ranks first, his Marilyn portraits and Campbell Soup cans being among some of the most recognisable images in visual culture.
Though Warhol’s interest in representing fame, celebrity and mass culture ironically awards him status as arguably the most famous artist of all time, his beginnings as a commercial illustrator and textile designer are remarkably unknown. Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios host guest curators Geoffrey Rayner and Richard Chamberlain’s impressive collection of the artist’s forgotten textile designs.
The story starts with the pair scouring online vintage auctions and boutiques looking for Warhol’s designs, eventually recognising a butterfly design on a silk dress, on sale for $300 (only $81,899,700 less than what the artist’s Elvis triptych sold for in 2014). Many of Warhol’s textile designs were sold anonymously through agents to manufacturers, and therefore can only be recognised through a certain level of connoisseurship rather than a signature.
The designs could be identified through Warhol’s signature blotted broken lines, achieving an impressive dynamism for arguably simple drawings. The textiles are vibrant and playful, my personal favourite features a somersaulting clown with cheeks matching the colour of his hat. The fabrics feature a range of themes. There are common everyday objects such as pens and pencils, as well as sweet treats like toffee apples and ice cream sundaes. There is also evidence of Warhol’s Art Nouveau influence on floral, Liberty-esque patterns designed for Balmoral Looms.
Black walls and dark grey mannequins amplify the zest and charm of the designs, as well as blown up black-and-white photographs of young Warhol in the 1950s. The portraits draw attention to the importance of Warhol’s persona within his career, in turn alluding to the possible missing pieces to his perfectly curated image. The exhibition provides access to newly uncovered work from an icon, eliciting excitement in the proof that the world’s most recognised artist still has more to give.
“Andy Warhol prints” by Rain Rabbit is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.