Cow 11A (Signed) by Andy Warhol is a bold screenprint featuring a close-up Jersey cow rendered in warm brown tones against a bright blue background. The cropped composition emphasizes the cow’s large eye, soft muzzle, and halter, giving the animal a surprisingly expressive presence. Warhol pushes the simple agricultural subject toward Pop abstraction. Moreover, the blue field flattens space, and the brown silhouette reads like a cut paper shape. The dot pattern of the screenprint adds texture. As a result, this Cow variant becomes playful and graphic, transforming a familiar farm image into a sharp, modern emblem.
Origins of the Cow Portfolio
The inspiration for Warhol’s Cow portfolio began with art dealer Ivan Karp, who encouraged him to choose a subject that was “wonderfully pastoral” and rooted in art history. Printer Gerard Malanga located the cow photograph that anchored the series. From there, Warhol applied his signature approach with intense color shifts and repetition. This method aligned the Cow prints with the broader logic of the portfolio. Moreover, it clarified how color alone could change the tone of a single image.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Warhol was expanding his interest in wallpaper and large-scale environments. He printed Cow 11A on wallpaper for exhibitions, including the 1971 show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Consequently, the Cow works became foundational examples of his immersive installation strategies.
Cow 11A (Signed) in Warhol’s Larger Body of Work
Cow 11A (Signed) is the second published colorway in the four-part Cow portfolio. The series includes Pink Cow on Yellow Background (1966), Brown Cow on Blue Background (1971), Yellow Cow on Blue Background (1971), and Pink Cow on Purple Background (1976). Each version demonstrates how Warhol used color to shift meaning and mood. In addition, the series marked his introduction of wallpaper into his artistic repertoire. This innovation reshaped the look and feel of his conceptual Pop environments.
Printed by Bill Miller’s Wallpaper Studio, Inc. in New York, Cow 11A (Signed) exemplifies Warhol’s ability to elevate even the most unassuming subject. Therefore, through bold contrasts, mechanical repetition, and unexpected playfulness, the Cow series stands as one of the clearest demonstrations of his power to redefine what could be considered worthy of art.
Photo Credit: Andy Warhol photographed April 28, 1971 at his retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Photo by Jack Mitchell/Getty Images.
