Andy Warhol's tins of Campbell's soup

Andy Warhol (1928-87) was an American artist and a leading figure in the pop art movement. His works explored the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertising and it was these dynamics which caused controversy within the art world throughout his life.
He completed the Campbell soup cans in 1962. He claimed to eat the soup most lunchtimes! (He produced other tins of soups at other times in his life). This was an artwork featuring the 32 varieties of Campbell's soup on separate canvasses of 20x16". These paintings were produced by a printmaking method - a semi-mechanised screen printing process using a non painterly style. Warhol's screenprints are characterised by areas of flat colour against a contrasting black and white photographic imagery. He also will present multiples of the image in different colour schemes.
This work was exhibited in 1962 and the combination of the semi-mechanised process, the non-painterly style and the blatant commercialism initially caused offence, it offended the fans of the abstract expressionists, the art movement which was dominant in post war America. The controversy led to a great deal of debate about the merits and ethics of such work. This commotion helped Warhol  gain a foothold in art history and he became America's most renowned pop art artist.
I chose to look at this painting as I saw one of his tins of soup in the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow.

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