Watermelon (F. & S. II.199)
Watermelon (F. & S. II.199)
Signed Print
Andy Warhol
£9,000-£13,000Value Indicator
$19,000-$27,000 Value Indicator
$17,000-$24,000 Value Indicator
¥90,000-¥130,000 Value Indicator
€10,500-€15,000 Value Indicator
$100,000-$140,000 Value Indicator
¥1,790,000-¥2,580,000 Value Indicator
$12,000-$18,000 Value Indicator
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76 x 102cm, Edition of 150, Screenprint
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Meaning & Analysis
The screen print Watermelon (F. & S. II.199) by Andy Warhol focuses on a highly-stylised oblong watermelon. This screen print, printed on Lennox museum board, was released in an edition of 150 in 1979 as part of the larger series, Space Fruit.
The green fruit sits on the left side of the canvas while a large purple shadow extends off the right edge of the frame. Warhol’s overdrawing gives detail to the fruit, which would otherwise be unrecognisable but for its unique oblong shape. Warhol rarely produced still lives, making this rendition unique in his oeuvre. The red rectangular background colour patches give the appearance of paper, making the image appear to be almost a collage. Their off-kilter alignment gives a sense of whimsy and movement to the very static genre of still life.
Watermelon is the only example of a single fruit in Warhol’s 1979 series Space Fruit. The series, a collaboration with printmaker Rupert Jasen Smith, uses extreme lighting to cast long shadows over fruit which are then screen printed with overdrawing. In the larger series, Warhol experimented with the colour wheel. This image demonstrates both complimentary colours with the red and green, and analogous colours with red, purple, and pink. The medium, use of long shadows, and experimentation with the colour wheel all work to give this watermelon still life an other-worldly effect.
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.