The Witch (F. & S. II.261)
The Witch (F. & S. II.261)
Signed Print
Andy Warhol
£29,000-£45,000Value Indicator
$60,000-$90,000 Value Indicator
$50,000-$80,000 Value Indicator
¥280,000-¥430,000 Value Indicator
€35,000-€50,000 Value Indicator
$310,000-$470,000 Value Indicator
¥5,790,000-¥8,980,000 Value Indicator
$40,000-$60,000 Value Indicator
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97 x 97cm, Edition of 200, Screenprint
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Meaning & Analysis
The Witch is a print from Andy Warhol’s highly sought-after Myths series from 1981 that sought to explore the creation of myths in American popular culture. Warhol’s series features a range of fictional characters and icons from early film and TV, representative of the classic American childhood of the 1940s and 50s. This print shows a highly animated image of the actress Margaret Hamilton performing the character of the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz.
Warhol creates an immediately recognisable icon with this print that shows Hamilton embodying her role as the quintessential American villain, her mouth wide open and captured mid-shriek. The witch’s face is illuminated in lurid green and her jet black silhouette is outlined in bright red, set against a backdrop in night-sky blue. The resulting image is a fair more sinister version of the childhood fictional character than we may remember.
Commenting on the myth making in Old Hollywood films and Walt Disney cartoons that produce the stereotypical heroes and villains of the 20th century, Warhol’s title choice for the series is apt. Alongside Warhol’s famous portraits of the ‘heroines’ Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jackie Kennedy, The Witch is the feminine anti-hero of Pop Art.
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.
