Andy Warhol, Electric Chairs, 1971 FS II.83

Artist: Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987)
Title:Electric Chairs, 1971 FS II.83
Reference:FS II.83
Series:Electric Chair, 1971
Medium:Screenprint on paper.
Sheet Size:35 1/2 x 48 in (90.2 x 121.9 cm)
Edition:Numbered from an edition of 250, dated '71 in ball-point and numbered with a rubber stamp on verso, aside from 50 Artist Proofs numbered in Roman numerals, signed and dated in ball-point pen on verso and stamped 'AP' and numbered with a rubber stamp on verso.
Signature:This work is hand signed by Andy Warhol in ball-point pen on verso.
Condition:This work is in excellent condition.
ID #W-7194

Historical Description

Andy Warhol Electric Chairs, 1971 FS II.83 is the final print in the Electric Chairs portfolio. The overexposed portrait of New York's Sing Sing Penitentiary's electric chair, known as "Old Sparky," features a mostly yellow composition with dark blue shadowing. The muddled image the chair done in bright colors contrasts with the dark and somber nature of the subject. Warhol started delving into darker subjects in his artwork after surviving a gunshot injury in 1968. This traumatic experience changed Warhol as an artist and a person, and it shows in his career's work. For this series, Warhol was responding to a very topical issue at the time. In 1972, the death penalty was banned by the federal government and the subject was under intense debate throughout the country. The Electric Chairs portfolio present an interesting combination of Warhol's personal thematic exploration and his own social and political commentary.

Created in 1971, this work is a screenprint on paper, hand signed by Andy Warhol in ball-point pen on verso.  Numbered from an edition of 250, dated '71 in ball-point and numbered with a rubber stamp on verso, aside from 50 Artist Proofs numbered in Roman numerals, signed and dated in ball-point pen on verso and stamped 'AP' and numbered with a rubber stamp on verso.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
Andy Warhol Electric Chairs, 1971 FS II.83 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonné and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the sale of the work).

1. Feldman, Frayda and Jörg Schellmann, A Catalogue Raisonne, 4th ed. Listed as catalogue raisonné no. II.83.
2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.

About the Framing:
Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Andy Warhol Electric Chairs, 1971 FS II.83 is presented in a complementary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.