35 x 28 cm art print reproduction Self-Portrait with fright wig (1986) by Andy Warhol.
Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987) was an American artist, director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, advertising, and celebrity culture that flourished by the 1960s.
This Polaroid is one of several that Warhol took in preparation for a series of large-scale screen-prints commissioned by Anthony D’Offay for an exhibition at his London gallery in 1986. In the photographs, and subsequently transferred into the paintings, Warhol’s skull-like head is isolated from his body, floating against a dark background.
This composition bears striking similarities to a Robert Mapplethorpe photographic portrait of Warhol from the same year. In both, Warhol wears his famous silver wig, but, in this Polaroid, the hair stands on end in an almost manic fashion, his eyes fixed on the viewer in a piercing, hypnotic gaze. This series of self-portraits were the last Warhol completed before his death in 1987.
