Campbell’s Soup II, New England Clam Chowder (F. & S. II.57)
Signed Print

The Campbell’s Soup Cans paintings were first shown together in uniform rows, displayed as though they were products on the supermarket shelf. Each work represents every flavour of soup sold by Campbell’s Soup and the image itself precisely mimics the red and white labels of the brand. This print corresponds with the New England clam chowder flavour sold by the brand and shows a gold circular logo in the middle with an added detail of the words “Important! Add whole milk’” across it.

This series was one of the first portfolios to be published through Factory Additions, New York, a company the artist created to produce and distribute his prints. The prints were created by the machine-like screen print process, erasing the artist’s touch altogether and producing a precisely rendered image that exactly mimics the design of the soup can. Elevated to the realm of fine art and presenting these consumer products as objects for observation, Warhol poses a challenge to the value of art and the way art is consumed.