Background
Andy Warhol began creating his Mao series in 1972, with financial support from the New York galleries Knoedler & Co. and the Leo Castelli Gallery, along with backing from collector Peter Brant. [3] The series was prompted by Warhol's Swiss dealer, Bruno Bischofberger, who, along with Warhol's business manager Fred Hughes, encouraged him to paint again. In a frequently cited exchange from Bob Colacello's Holy Terror: Andy Warhol Close Up (1990), Bischofberger suggested that Warhol depict the most important figure of the twentieth century, whom he considered to be Albert Einstein. Warhol replied, "That's a good idea. But I was just reading in Life magazine that the most famous person in the world today is Chairman Mao. Shouldn't it be the most famous person, Bruno?" [5] At the time, Mao's image was widely publicized; he appeared on the March 3, 1972, cover of Life, and President Richard Nixon had a widely televised visit to China a month earlier, the first by an American president and a historic turning point in U.S.-China relations. [6] [7] Bischofberger initially expressed concern that a portrait of a Communist leader would be difficult to sell, but Warhol argued that since Nixon had recently visited Mao, the painting would likely be acceptable to prominent collectors.
The project marked Warhol's return to painting after a period focused on filmmaking and was one of his most ambitious bodies of work since the Flowers series of the mid-1960s. [1] In making hundreds of images of Mao, Warhol drew on a widely circulated portrait of the chairman by Chinese artist Zhang Zhenshi, later used for the book Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung (also known as Little Red Book). [9] [10] Warhol transformed a political and propagandistic symbol into a commodity-like portrait that blurred the distinctions between celebrity culture, political iconography, and mass-produced imagery. [1] [5]
Composition
Warhol began painting the first group of eleven Mao paintings in March 1972. Measuring 82 by 62 inches, these early works are modest in scale, featuring Mao in a consistent color palette with a complementary blue background and a striking red on his lips. Later that year, in November and December, Warhol produced four much larger works at 177 by 137 inches. [5] He lightened the palette, introducing paler blues and grays, and shifted Mao's face from pink to yellow, while applying minimal feathered brushstrokes to the edges of the background, which created a commanding presence. Continuing into 1973, Warhol explored additional sizes in which heavy, swirling brushstrokes around Mao's head, background, and clothing dominate the composition. [5]
Exhibitions
Warhol's exhibition of Mao portraits opened at the Musée Galliera in Paris on February 22, 1974, marking one of the first major European showings of the series. Four twenty-foot-high portraits were displayed side by side in the grand hall, which had been covered in Warhol's white-and-lavender Mao wallpaper. The smaller salons were also wallpapered and filled with medium-sized paintings, Mao prints, and, in one room, one hundred miniature Mao paintings, resembling a series of Oriental postage stamps.
In November 1979, curator and collector David Whitney assembled three of the four giant Mao paintings in the retrospective Andy Warhol: Portraits of the 70s at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. [5]
Critical reception
When exhibited in New York, Zurich, and Paris, Warhol's Mao paintings were met with widespread acclaim. Former Interview editor Bob Colacello noted, "They were controversial, commercial, and important, just like the man they portrayed and the man who painted them. And they were all about power: the power of one man over the lives of one billion people."
Scholars and critics have interpreted the series as both a continuation of Warhol's exploration of celebrity and a commentary on the intersection of politics and popular culture, highlighting how mass media transforms leaders into figures consumed like commercial products. [1] [5]
Provence and art market
In 1974, fashion designer Halston acquired ten miniature Mao paintings from Warhol for about $2,000 each.
Warhol gifted actress Paulette Goddard a miniature Mao painting in 1974.
In November 2006, Mao (1972), depicting the chairman with yellow cheeks in a dark blue jacket against a light blue background, from the Daros Collection sold for $17.4m, a then-auction record for Warhol, at Christie's in New York. [14] [15] [16]
Actor Dennis Hopper owned a 1972 Mao screenprint, which he reportedly shot in a fit of paranoia. [17] The print, depicting a blue-faced Mao with green lips against a turquoise background, sold at Christie's in New York for $302,500 in January 2011. [18]
In November 2012, Mao (1973), featuring a red tunic with a yellow face accented in red against a background of royal blue hues, was sold by businessman Arpad Bussonfor $12 million at Phillips in New York. [19]
In November 2015, Mao (1972), depicting the chairman with rouged lips, peach-toned skin, and a navy tunic against a pale blue background sold for $47.5 million at Sotheby's in New York. [20] [21]
In April 2017, a 1973 Mao sold for HK$98.5 million (US$12.6 million) at Sotheby's Hong Kong, setting a then-record price for a work of contemporary art sold in Asia. [22] The painting, featuring a golden-faced Mao against a brown background, had previously sold at Sotheby's London in February 2014 for £7.6 million (US$12.6 million). [22]
In November 2017, Mao (1972), featuring scarlet lips and a golden glow set against a background of variegated blues and teals, and formerly owned by Yoko Ono, sold for $32.4 million at Sotheby's in New York. [23]
In March 2024, a 1972 Mao was stolen from Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California. The artwork had been donated to the college in 2020 and stored in the Frank M. Doyle Art Pavilion. [24]
In December 2024, Mao (1973), characterized by contrasting fields of blue, orange, and red—originally owned by Warhol's longtime partner, interior designer Jed Johnson—was sold for $3.65 million at Heritage Auctions in Dallas. [25]
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