Cow (F. & S. II.12)
Cow (F. & S. II.12)
Signed Print
Andy Warhol
£19,000-£29,000Value Indicator
$40,000-$60,000 Value Indicator
$35,000-$50,000 Value Indicator
¥180,000-¥280,000 Value Indicator
€23,000-€35,000 Value Indicator
$200,000-$300,000 Value Indicator
¥3,670,000-¥5,600,000 Value Indicator
$25,000-$40,000 Value Indicator
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
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Medium: Screenprint
Edition size: 150
Year: 1971
Size: H 116cm x W 76cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2025 | Phillips New York | United States | |||
| December 2023 | Sotheby's New York | United States | |||
| March 2022 | Sotheby's New York | United States | |||
| April 2021 | Phillips New York | United States | |||
| March 2021 | Sotheby's New York | United States | |||
| February 2021 | Sotheby's Paris | France | |||
| January 2018 | Phillips London | United Kingdom |
Meaning & Analysis
The screen print Cow (F. & S. II. 12), from Andy Warhol’s Cow portfolio (1966-76), shows a grainy, screen printed image of a cow’s head, coloured in bright yellow and completed with an electric blue background. Each rendered in unique, vivid colour schemes, the four Cow paintings were originally published for display at an exhibition in The Modern Art Pavilion in Seattle in November 1976.
Warhol appropriated a photograph chosen by his printer Gerard Malanga to create the screen print, through which he experimented with a range of techniques and colour to form the entire series. As a further reiteration of the print, Warhol decided to print the Cow series onto wallpaper, directly playing into the notion of high art as a saleable commodity and bringing the value of fine art into question. Subsequently the print has been installed directly onto the walls of galleries and museums, including at Warhol’s 1966 show at the Leo Castelli Gallery.
In stark contrast to the artist’s portraits of celebrities and products of mass-consumerism in America, this print depicts a more universal and mundane subject to create a humorous and playful image. The vivid colour contrasts and repetition of subject has been said to subvert the mundane subject and allude to the amusing idea of a cow on an acid trip.
Andy Warhol was a leading figure of the Pop Art movement and is often considered the father of Pop Art. Born in 1928, Warhol allowed cultural references of the 20th century to drive his work. From the depiction of glamorous public figures, such as Marilyn Monroe, to the everyday Campbell’s Soup Can, the artist challenged what was considered art by blurring the boundaries between high art and mass consumerism. Warhol's preferred screen printing technique further reiterated his obsession with mass culture, enabling art to be seen as somewhat of a commodity through the reproduced images in multiple colour ways.
