ANDY WARHOL, VAN HEUSEN (RONALD REGAN) (F. & S. IIB.356), ADS, SIGNED PRINT, EDITION OF 190, 1985
Printed in 1985, Van Heusen (Ronald Regan) (F. & S. IIB.356) is a screen print by Andy Warhol that reflects his keen interest in consumer culture. Indeed, Warhol uses an advert Ronald Reagan did for Van Heusen shirts in 1953 as his source material for this print.
Reagan is depicted in a head and shoulders portrait and red lines are used to delineate his body against a white backdrop. The right of the composition is dominated by the ad campaign’s slogan in red and green. The layering of red and green results is a looser style when compared to the mechanical aesthetic of Warhol’s early prints, such as the Campbell’s soup series, which similarly focuses on consumer goods.
Van Heusen (Ronald Regan) (F. & S. IIB.356) is one of the ten prints in Warhol’s Ads series, produced two years before his death. Printed on Lenox Museum Board, the inspiration for this print can clearly be traced back to Warhol’s early career as a commercial illustrator in New York, which brings an element of nostalgia to this print. The Ads series captures Warhol’s obsession with consumerism and his ability to turn everyday consumer goods into art. Indeed, Warhol’s name has become synonymous with mass consumerism, a potent theme throughout the Ads series.
Read more about Ads by Andy Warhol
ABOUT ANDY WARHOL
Widely considered to be the father of Pop Art, Andy Warhol has influenced countless artists, designers and musicians and become an icon of the 20th century. Known as much for his look as his art, his name is synonymous with the celebrity culture and mass consumerism which came to define the American Dream. Learn more about Andy Warhol.
