Andy Warhol

Musical Notes and Sprite Faces

1953

© 2020 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York and DACS, London

License this image

Not on display

Artist: Andy Warhol 1928–1987
Medium: Ink and dye on paper
Dimensions: Support: 454 × 365 mm
frame: 680 × 550 × 28 mm
Collection: ARTIST ROOMS Tate and National Galleries of Scotland
Acquisition: ARTIST ROOMS Acquired jointly with the National Galleries of Scotland through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund 2008
Reference: AR00246

Online caption

Warhol’s most famous work, from the early 1960s onwards, differs from his commercial illustrations in many respects. Yet there are similarities; specific aspects of his later work are anticipated in these early drawings. During the 1950s, alongside his blotted-line technique, Warhol began investigating different processes which he could incorporate into his work, such as marbled paper and gold leaf. This illustration is an example of the way he experimented with rubber stamps to create an identical, repeated image. This directly relates to the technique of screenprinting, which enabled Warhol to duplicate photographic images and motifs.