Diamond Dust Shoes (F. & S. II.256)

Diamond Dust Shoes (F. & S. II. 256) is part of the Diamond Dust Shoes series. This series marks a late stage in Warhol’s artistic career as he turns back to familiar icons and subjects of his earlier works. The shoes depicted in this series resonate strongly with the start of Warhol’s career as a freelance commercial illustrator. In the 1950s, Warhol’s illustrations of shoes were featured widely in popular fashion magazines such as Glamour, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Revisiting this familiar image, Warhol updates his renderings of high heeled shoes giving them a distinctly late 20th century feel. Diamond Dust Shoes (F. & S. II. 256) differs from others in the series due to the lack of colour. The viewer has to focus their attention on the print to make out the shoes as there is less of a visual contrast between them and the dark background.

The print was made using the Diamond Dust method which was developed by Rupert Jasen Smith who Warhol admired greatly. The incorporation of diamond dust particles in the screen printing process transforms the everyday commodity into a luxurious and glamorous object. This new method marks a development from the blotted line technique that characterised much of Warhol’s early commercial illustrations.