Geronimo (F. & S. II.384)
Geronimo (F. & S. II.384)
Signed Print
Andy Warhol
POA
This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
Screenprint, 1986
Signed Print Edition of 250
H 91cm x W 91cm
Critical Review
Printed in 1986, Geronimo (F. & S. II.384) is a signed screen print by Andy Warhol on Lenox Museum Board that depicts the celebrated Native American leader of the Apache tribe. The print is rendered in bold and vibrant colours with gestural lines delineating the contours of Geronimo's angered facial expression against a plain white backdrop. The use of these bright colours is emblematic of Warhol's Pop Art style and transforms the historical figure into a 20th century icon of popular culture.
Geronimo (F. & S. II.384) is part of a series of ten graphic screen prints that form the Cowboys And Indians series. In this series, Warhol takes archetypal figures and objects that capture America’s romanticised vision of the American West. The subject of this print, Geronimo is historically and politically loaded as Geronimo was highly regarded in his community but brutally taken advantage of when he was captured and held as a prisoner of war by the United States. By portraying Geronimo in his signature Pop Art style, Warhol draws attention to the way in which popular interpretations of the American West serve to distort and erase history. Indeed, Geronimo’s history has largely been forgotten and this historical figure has become a caricature of Native Americans.
The print was made using Warhol's signature screen printing method which adds to the ironic political commentary accompanying the print. The screen printing technique is known for its capacity to mass-produce imagery to be widely distributed. The technique mirrors the way in which images in popular culture are widely disseminated and the implications of this when mass media can impact how we understand history.
