Flowers 68 (Flowers Portfolio)
91 x 91 cm
Not For Sale
Andy Warhol’s Flowers 68 (1970) is part of Andy Warhol’s Flowers portfolio. A sense of depth is communicated through the use of orange highlights around the flowers and deep green shadows that hug their lower edges. The varying shades of green behind the flowers makes them lends a certain naturalism to the work. Warhol’s Flowers 68 emphasizes the interplay between the flowers and their background, and is a wonderful addition to Andy Warhol’s Flowers portfolio. Andy Warhol’s Flowers is based on a photo by Patricia Caulfield that appeared in the June 1968 issue of the magazine Popular Photography. The original image was cropped and the colors inverted before Warhol added washes of vibrant dyes to the flower petals by hand. The flowers depicted are hibiscus flowers, specifically the mandrinette. Flowers is often viewed as a departure from Warhol’s typical work, which is known for centering around celebrities and well-known brands. The original image was not particularly famous before his appropriation of it, and the floral subject matter is not particularly related to pop culture or commercialism. However, flowers are a subject that Warhol continually revisits in his oeuvre. His work with advertisements are made powerful due to their contexts, but flowers are timeless. This is undoubtedly a reason why the Flowers series remains one of Warhol’s most popular portfolios.