Dracula 264 by Andy Warhol is one of ten screenprints from Warhol’s Myths portfolio (1981). Like his portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Mao, this work reflects Warhol’s enduring fascination with fame and its darker undertones. Yet here, he trades celebrity for legend, turning toward figures drawn from cinema, folklore, and collective imagination. The Myths series glitters with nostalgia and spectacle—nine of the ten prints are layered with diamond dust. Dracula alone is not. What shimmers in the others, here recedes, giving the vampire an unsettling power that glows only from within.
In Dracula 264, Warhol captures the vampire in a flash of theatrical menace. Against a jet-black background, Dracula’s face emerges in hot pink outlines that define his sharp features. His mouth is open in mid-snarl, exposing his fangs. The eyes glow with hypnotic intensity, commanding both fear and fascination. The pink light against the darkness gives the figure a supernatural energy—half creature, half icon.
Origins and Cinematic Influence
Dracula 264 was based on a still from director Tod Browning’s 1931 film Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi. The image is one of the most enduring in horror cinema, and Warhol reimagines it through his Pop sensibility. His interest in the Dracula character, however, predated the Myths series. In 1974, he produced Blood for Dracula with director Paul Morrissey—a darkly comic take on the vampire legend, filled with camp and excess. The film, now a cult classic, reflected Warhol’s fascination with death, sexuality, and transformation.
Warhol’s use of bright neon against deep black gives the print a distinctly modern tone. The vampire becomes both terrifying and glamorous, like a star caught between seduction and decay. This tension between darkness and allure runs throughout the Myths portfolio and connects it to Warhol’s other portrait series, such as Reigning Queens and Endangered Species. In each, Warhol traces the contours of power—whether royal, animal, or supernatural—with sharp color contrasts and hand-drawn lines.
Dracula and the Myth of “Drella”
Like other works in the Myths series, Dracula 264 reveals something of Warhol’s own identity. Many critics have seen the vampire as a reflection of the artist’s alter ego, “Drella”—a blend of “Dracula” and “Cinderella.” The nickname, given by friends at The Factory, captured his dual nature: shy and reclusive by day, dazzling and provocative by night. The comparison fit his pale complexion, nocturnal habits, and fascination with transformation.
During the day, Warhol often secluded himself in his studio, surrounded by silkscreens and photographs. At night, he emerged into New York’s vibrant social scene, hosting parties with artists, models, and musicians. This duality—withdrawal and exhibition—mirrors the tension in Dracula 264: the figure who hides in darkness yet craves the gaze of others. The theme also inspired Lou Reed and John Cale of The Velvet Underground, who released Songs for Drella (1990) as a tribute to Warhol after his death.
Dracula 264 in Warhol’s Larger Body of Work
Dracula 264 occupies a pivotal place within Warhol’s exploration of mythology and fame. The Myths portfolio blurs the boundaries between fiction and celebrity, turning pop culture characters into modern-day icons. In Dracula, the vampire’s hypnotic gaze echoes the star power of figures like Marilyn Monroe and Liz Taylor. Both beauty and horror become forms of spectacle—images that hold the viewer’s attention through repetition and allure.
Ultimately, Dracula 264 captures Warhol’s fascination with dual identities: predator and victim, artist and subject, myth and man. Through minimal color and maximum contrast, Warhol turns one of film’s most infamous monsters into a mirror of himself—enigmatic, seductive, and impossible to forget.
Photo credits:
- Andy Warhol with Dracula. Photograph by Barbara J. Goldner. Courtesy of St. Lawrence University.
- “Andy Warhol holding Dracula Myths,” Robert Levin, 1981.
