Cow
Title
Cow
Creator
Andy Warhol
American, 1928 - 1987
American, 1928 - 1987
Date
1966
Format
silkscreen on wallpaper
Type
print
Description
Cow is a motif elaborated for a wallpaper that Warhol used for the first time at Leo Castelli Gallery in New York in 1966. The show included two rooms. The first was filled with "silver clouds" which were in fact helium balloons, and the second was one entirely covered with cow wallpaper.
That subject was recommended to Warhol by Ivan Karp, who collected paintings of cows. Warhol's assistant, Gerard Melanga, found the picture of the Jersey cow in an agricultural magazine, which served as the model for "Cow." Treated with abrasive colors, the wallpaper can be seen as the artist's attempt to explore unconventional formats. Although Warhol was still publicly proclaiming his retirement from painting, he continued to silkscreen print many of his canvases. Warhol produced another version of the wallpaper in 1971 using a deep blue instead of the acid yellow as a background.
That subject was recommended to Warhol by Ivan Karp, who collected paintings of cows. Warhol's assistant, Gerard Melanga, found the picture of the Jersey cow in an agricultural magazine, which served as the model for "Cow." Treated with abrasive colors, the wallpaper can be seen as the artist's attempt to explore unconventional formats. Although Warhol was still publicly proclaiming his retirement from painting, he continued to silkscreen print many of his canvases. Warhol produced another version of the wallpaper in 1971 using a deep blue instead of the acid yellow as a background.
Source
Gift of the Meisel Gallery, New York
Original Format
silkscreen on wallpaper
Collection
Citation
Andy Warhol
American, 1928 - 1987, “Cow,” Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection, accessed April 19, 2024, https://ewinggallery.omeka.net/items/show/1.