Andy Warhol: Myths Portfolio

Created in 1981, the Myths series was inspired by Howdy Doody, a character from a classic American children’s television program. Warhol found the doll at a rural flea market, which he visited with his art dealer and publisher, Ronald Feldman, who suggested to the artist that ‘he assemble a pantheon of mythological Americana.’ Warhol’s selection included icons who shaped the collective consciousness of America. From characters featured in the Hollywood movies and comic books of Warhol’s youth to the timeless archetypes of fantasy and folklore, the Myths serve as a time-capsule for twentieth-century America.

Warhol would invite actors, models and friends to his studio, which was staged like a film set, to photograph them whilst dressed in costumes and makeup. The resulting preparatory polaroids were then enlarged and became the basis of his portraits. The model for The Witch was Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland. Hamilton lived in Warhol’s neighbourhood: he approached the actress and invited her to a photo shoot where she recreated her iconic poses from the movie.

The theatricality of these instantly recognisable characters parallels Warhol’s own highly curated, enigmatic image. A social chameleon, he enjoyed dressing up, wearing wigs, and adopting various ‘masks’ to reflect his environment.

For Warhol, comic books were a source of comfort during a childhood characterised by illness. Confined to his bed for months at a time, the young Warhol found solace and empowerment in the fantastical world of superheroes, symbolic of transcending the human condition.

Indeed, animation and comic characters appeared early in Warhol’s oeuvre. In 1961, he used comic book imagery to portray Superman as the subject of one of his earlier Pop Art paintings. Many years later, Warhol interviewed Christopher Reeve, star of the 1978 Superman film, for a feature in Interview magazine. The subsequent inclusion of Superman in Myths simultaneously embodies the futuristic innovation of the post-war boom years and the powerful nostalgia of childhood.

Perhaps the most instantly recognisable figure in the Myths portfolio is the character of Mickey Mouse – an enduring symbol of modern Americana. Embellished with Warhol’s signature diamond dust, the cartoon is elevated from popular culture to the realm of fine art. Warhol greatly admired Walt Disney and was an avid collector of the original Disney celluloids used in the animation process. Before embarking on the Myths series, Warhol considered the idea of creating a portfolio dedicated entirely to Disney characters. While this project never came to fruition, the theme of Disney re-emerged with Donald Duck featuring in his Ads series a few years later.  

Warhol himself was transformed into a hybrid version of the cartoon mouse by his friend, the artist Keith Haring, in his series of works entitled Andy Mouse. By portraying Warhol as a Mickey-like figure, Haring immortalised the artist as an American icon. As Haring explained: ‘It’s like treating [Warhol] like he was part of American culture, like Mickey Mouse was. That he himself had become a symbol, a sign for something completely, universally, understandable.’

Myths not only acts as cultural mirror for twentieth-century America, but also contains a self-expressive element. Warhol was famous for cultivating an aura of artifice, adopting a persona and responding to interview questions with evasive aphorisms. ‘If you want to know all about Andy Warhol’, he once glibly remarked, ‘just look at the surface: of my paintings and films and me, and there I am.’

This proclivity for self-mythologisation is evident in Warhol’s insertion of himself into the Myths series, casting himself as ‘The Shadow’, the crime-fighting hero of a 1930s radio show and comic book. For this self-portrait, Warhol’s mysterious double image reflects his multifaceted nature, appearing as an omniscient and shadowy figure overseeing his ‘pantheon of mythological Americana’.

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