Cow, 1976

Andy Warhol (1928–1987) revolutionized contemporary art through his transformation of mass-produced imagery into icons of modern culture. Emerging in the 1960s as a leading figure of Pop Art, Warhol appropriated commercial and celebrity imagery—ranging from soup cans to movie stars—to expose and celebrate the deep interconnection between art, media, and consumerism. His innovative use of screenprinting and repetition turned the tools of mass production into an artistic language of its own, allowing him to blur the boundaries between the ordinary and the extraordinary. Through this lens, Warhol’s work remains both a critique and an embodiment of modern society’s obsession with image, fame, and desire.

Created in 1976, Purple Cow extends Warhol’s fascination with commercial patterning and humor into the realm of immersive installation. Executed as a screenprint on wallpaper and measuring 45½ × 29⅘ inches (115.6 × 75.6 cm), the work is stamped and numbered by the Estate of Andy Warhol and the Visual Arts Foundation, with additional initials by Timothy J. Hunt of the Warhol Foundation. Originally conceived as part of a larger series of wallpaper prints, Purple Cow transforms a playful, pastoral subject into a symbol of Pop irony—elevating kitsch into high art. The vivid hue and serial repetition evoke both absurdity and elegance, exemplifying Warhol’s enduring genius for turning the banal into the iconic.