ANDY WARHOL, TEDDY ROOSEVELT (F. & S. II. 386), COWBOYS AND INDIANS SERIES, SIGNED SCREEN PRINT, 1986
Taken from Andy Warhol’s Cowboys And Indians series (1986), Teddy Roosevelt (F. & S. II. 386) is a print that features a portrait of the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Famed for his vivacious personality and ‘cowboy’ persona, Roosevelt was a ‘hero’ in the eyes of Americans. Consequently, by appropriating a photograph taken in 1898, Warhol shows Roosevelt in his Rough Rider uniform to make clear his image as the quintessential American hero.
Warhol colours Roosevelt’s face in a bright blue, with contours of red so as to subvert this quintessential image of the American hero into a piece of Pop Art. Using his celebrated screen print method, Warhol leaves the imperfections in colour and looseness in line that give the print a lively feel. Set against a plain white backdrop, thus removing the image’s historical context, just like with other prints in the series, Warhol brings this image of Roosevelt into the context of 1980s popular culture that the artist was seeking to criticise.
By including romanticised images of Native Americans alongside portraits of figures like Roosevelt, Warhol confronts the viewers with themes like exploitation, war, power and ownership. Rendered in a flattened style and unique combinations of vibrant hues, the characters in the Cowboys and Indians Series are made out to be fictionalised characters from the imaginary ‘Wild West’, as perpetuated by the mechanism of fame in popular culture.
Find out more about Cowboys And Indians by Andy Warhol.
ABOUT ANDY WARHOL
Andy Warhol (born Andrew Warhola) is a name synonymous with the celebrity culture and mass consumerism which coloured the boulevards of New York City in the Post World War II era. Born into a working class immigrant family in the urban landscape around the bustling metropolis, Warhol’s early life was characterised by a climb up the capitalist rungs of society.
The artist himself noted, “buying is more American than thinking, and I’m as American as they come”, this quote came to demarcate Warhol’s artistic practice as he embraced the commodification of the American Dream. The Pop artist’s beginnings in the business sector gave him the practical skill set to experiment with a more commercial approach to art throughout his career, particularly with regards to screen printing. Read more about Andy Warhol.
