Andy Warhol,
American 1928-1987,
Chanel, from Ads, 1985;
screenprint in colours on Lenox Museum...

Andy Warhol,
American 1928-1987,

Chanel, from Ads, 1985;

screenprint in colours on Lenox Museum board,
signed in pencil and inscribed AP18/30,
sheet: 96.5 x 96.5 cm,
(framed)

Note: printed in 1985; this impression is one of 30 artist's proofs aside from the numbered edition of 190, with the printer's blind stamp, Rupert Jasen Smith, and with the publisher's blind stamp, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., New York.

Literature: Feldman and Schellmann, II.34

Provenance: Private UK Collection | Halcyon Gallery London

Chanel (F. & S. II.354), from Warhol's Ads series, displays Warhol’s ability to elevate everyday items and turn them into objects of desire, commemorating the immortality of celebrity, and the ultimate in consumerism.
Through his striking use of colour, repetition, and composition, Warhol has captured the essence of Chanel's coveted perfume, heightening its status into fine art. His depiction of the Chanel No.5 bottle serves as a visual statement on commercialism and the power of branding, which were central motifs throughout Warhol’s body of work.

The Chanel no.5 bottle was created in 1921 by Coco Chanel. In 1920, when presented with small glass vials containing sample scents numbered 1 to 5 and 20 to 24 for her assessment, she chose the fifth vial. Chanel told her master perfumer, Ernest Beaux, whom she had commissioned to develop a new fragrance, 'I present my dress collections on the fifth of May, the fifth month of the year and so we will let this sample number five keep the name it has already, it will bring good luck.'