Flowers (Hand-Colored), 1974

Andy Warhol’s Flowers (Hand-Colored) (1974) belongs to one of the most enduring and deceptively complex series of his career. First introduced in the mid-1960s, the Flowers motif marked a shift away from celebrity portraits and overt tragedy toward imagery that appeared serene, decorative, and universally appealing. Yet beneath their beauty lies Warhol’s ongoing inquiry into repetition, impermanence, and artificiality. The flowers—originally derived from a magazine photograph—are flattened, stylized, and stripped of naturalism, transforming a symbol of life and renewal into a graphic emblem. In this hand-colored version, Warhol reintroduces individuality into a system built on mechanical reproduction, creating a subtle tension between mass production and personal touch.

This work is a screenprint hand-colored with Dr. Martin’s aniline watercolor dyes, a medium known for its vivid saturation and fluid unpredictability. Numbered in pencil on the verso from an edition of 250, the print is further distinguished by being hand-signed by Warhol in pencil on the verso and initialed in pencil in the lower right—details that underscore its hybrid status between print and unique work. Measuring 40 3/8 × 27 1/2 inches (102.6 × 69.9 cm), the scale allows the composition to command space while retaining an intimate, almost meditative quality. The hand-applied colors ensure that no two impressions are exactly alike, reinforcing Warhol’s late-career interest in variation, authorship, and the enduring allure of beauty—even when filtered through the lens of Pop.