The Witch From Myths, 1981; Unique screenprint in colors with diamond dust on Lenox Museum Board; Signed Andy Warhol and numbered TP 4/30 in pencil lower left; Published by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., NY.
To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE
To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE
In 1981 Warhol created a series of works that he called Myths. They were all portraits of iconic figures and included, "The Star" a portrait of Greta Garbo from the film Mata Hari, "Uncle Sam," "Mammy," "Howdy Doody," "Superman," "The Witch," "Dracula," "Mickey Mouse," "Santa Claus," and "The Shadow," a profile portrait of Andy Warhol in red casting a shadow on a wall beside him. In addition to Warhol's use of bold graphic colors, he added diamond dust to the prints. Diamond dust was Andy's term for the finely crushed glass that was added to the lines and/or the background of his serigraphed prints. The resulting works were spectacular, and the diamond dust was the magical sparkle that seemed to make the works even more mythical!
Andy had wanted to photograph each myth himself, if possible, and then create silkscreens from his polaroid photographs. In the case of the "The Witch," he was able to do just that! He flew Margaret Hamilton, the actress who played the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, to New York. She brought with her the costume she originally wore in the film and Andy photographed her with his Big Shot Polaroid camera. The result was a cackling Wicked Witch of the West, and I think, one of the best prints in the set of ten!
Andy had wanted to photograph each myth himself, if possible, and then create silkscreens from his polaroid photographs. In the case of the "The Witch," he was able to do just that! He flew Margaret Hamilton, the actress who played the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, to New York. She brought with her the costume she originally wore in the film and Andy photographed her with his Big Shot Polaroid camera. The result was a cackling Wicked Witch of the West, and I think, one of the best prints in the set of ten!
Along with the standard edition of 200 prints of each image, Warhol created trial proofs (TPs). The TPs can vary in both their colors and the placement of the diamond dust as compared to the standard edition and from another TP. This difference allowed the creation of truly unique prints, where the colors and effect of the image could be radically changed. There were thirty TPs created for each Myth, and as each stands as a one-of-kind Warhol!
Numbered 4/30 and Andy Warhol's signature
In the case of this particular TP, just about every color has been changed compared to the standard edition; including the face, background, and even the line colors. There is diamond dust along each outline around the Witch's face and her hat.
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