Andy Warhol's Soup Cans

 

Andy Warhol was at the forefront of Pop Art.  He caused a bit of a sensation in 1962 when his paintings of Campbell's Soup Cans were exhibited.  He painted all 32 different soups then on offer.  While the work is now recognised as his most iconic, at the time many critics were scornful of it – one nearby art dealer even exhibiting a pile of real soup cans as if to say – you don't need to paint them just buy them in the supermarket – which sort of missed the point.

 

Each of the 32 canvasses measured 16 by 20 inches – so 32 of them took up a fair bit of wall space! And even more amazing to modern eyes, Warhol didn't get any funding at all from the manufacturers!

Warhol's style was no doubt inspired by his original training and work as a commercial illustrator.

 

Of course, he didn't just do soup cans – his images of Marilyn Monroe are also famous. 

You can see the original 32 soup cans at MoMa in New York.