In the realm of Pop art, Andy Warhol's 'Cow' series occupies a distinct pasture of its own, with its origins tracing back to the fluorescent pink and radiant yellow version created for his 1966 exhibition at the Leo Castelli Gallery. This initial version was as much an audacious visual statement as it was an environmental transformation, with the bovine imagery complementing the ephemeral floating 'Silver Clouds' to challenge traditional notions of gallery space and art itself. These works, executed with screenprint on wallpaper, questioned the confines between the art object and its surroundings, suggesting a new form of immersive experience where art could be both monumental and trivial, ubiquitous as wallpaper yet singular in its iconography.

The 1971 screenprint presented here, showcases Warhol's playful experimentation with seriality and color variations—a hallmark of his artistic practice. Moving away from the electric vibrancy of the initial 1966 palette, Warhol employs a subtler combination of colors, with a warm terracotta hue imposed on a cool blue background, evoking a pastoral serenity that belies the mechanical process of its creation. This work continues to explore the motif of the cow as an icon of bucolic life, yet Warhol's treatment elevates it from the everyday to the status of art, engaging in a dialogue with historical representations of agrarian scenes and livestock that have long been subjects of artistic endeavor.

Visually, this iteration of 'Cow' is a testament to the inherent variability and imperfection of screenprinting, a technique Warhol championed for its ability to replicate and yet alter with each impression. The image of the cow, marked by the halftone dots and irregularities of ink coverage, speaks to the mass production processes that Warhol was both critiquing and celebrating. These "accidents" and "imperfections" become integral to the work, infusing it with a sense of movement and life that contradicts the static nature of traditional wall coverings. Warhol’s adept use of color and mastery of screenprint reflect a sophisticated understanding of the medium’s potential, turning mechanical reproduction into an art form capable of producing works of enduring beauty and relevance.

NOTES

This artwork is stamped by The Estate of Andy Warhol, and The Andy Warhol Foundation on the verso, it also presents inventory number written in pencil.