Andy Warhol, Life Savers, 1985

Artist: Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987)
Title:Life Savers, 1985
Reference:FS II.353
Series:Ads Series, 1985
Medium:Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Image Size:38 in x 38 in (96.5 cm x 96.5 cm)
Sheet Size:38 in x 38 in (96.5 cm x 96.5 cm)
Edition:Numbered from the edition of 190 in pencil in the lower left. Published by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts Inc., New York; printed Rupert Jasen Smith, New York.
Signature:This work is hand signed by Andy Warhol (Pennsylvania, 1928 - New York, 1987) in pencil in the lower left.
Condition:This work is in excellent condition.
ID #W-6517

Historical Description

Andy Warhol Life Savers, 1985 tickles the eye with vivid, uplifting hues that are reminiscent to the colorful ring-shaped candies, down to the embossed logos on each individual piece to the distinctive packaging in a paper-wrapped aluminum foil roll. Interweaving his personal visual graphic style with the constructed format of what vintage life saver advertisements from the 1950’s looked like, Warhol introduces a rich display of the circular candies out of the packet, depicting the open roll of Life Savers at the bottom of the image with the inclusion of the 5 cent price and text that reads, “ P.S GET ‘EM IN THE HAND ROLL…EVERYWHERE |.. STILL ONLY 5¢”, writing in a faint prose that is just discernible from the vibrant pink background. At the center of the composition is the tongue-in-cheek phrase ‘please do not lick this page!’, which both engages the viewer while activating the senses, while also juxtaposing inviting, sweet candy content by bringing to mind the idea of fine art being forbidden to touch.

Created in 1985, Andy Warhol Life Savers, 1985 is a screenprint in colors on the Lenox Museum Board and signed by Andy Warhol (Pennsylvania, 1928 - New York, 1987) in pencil in the lower left and numbered from the edition of 190 in the lower right. Published by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts Inc., New York; printed Rupert Jasen Smith, New York.

Andy Warhol Ads Series, 1985:

Andy Warhol’s Ads series of 1985 features a variety of advertisements and logos of popular consumer brands including Chanel No. 5, Paramount, Volkswagen, Mobilgas, and Apple.

Interested in exploring the relationship between art and commerce, Warhol understood advertisements to be ubiquitous and influential forms of visual culture that could be celebrated through art. By reproducing these quotidian advertisements as art, Warhol questions the value of traditional art forms and the role of the artist in a commercial society.

Each artwork in the series features the product or brand name in bold letters, surrounded by vibrant colors and other design elements. Warhol's use of repetition and bright colors gives these advertisements a sense of familiarity and immediacy, emphasizing their power over consumer desires and popular culture at large.

This screenprint is part of a portfolio of 10 works Warhol created in 1985 titled The Andy Warhol Ads Series . Other works in the Series include AppleMobilRebel Without a Cause (James Dean)Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan)ParamountBlackglama (Judy Garland)ChanelThe New Spirit (Donald Duck)LifesaversVolkswagen.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
Andy Warhol Life Savers, 1985 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés 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 Catalog Raisonne; 4th ed . Andy Warhol Life Savers, 1985 is listed and illustrated as catalog II. 533 on pg. 146.
2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany our Andy Warhol Life Savers, 1985.

About the Framing:
Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Andy Warhol Life Savers, 1985  is presented in a complementary molded and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.

Subject Matter: $76k+