Hammer and Sickle (Special Edition) 167 by Andy Warhol is the third print in the seven-part 1977 Hammer and Sickle (Special Edition) portfolio. The work isolates a key stage in Warhol’s screenprinting process, revealing how the image takes shape before linework or hand-drawn elements appear. Rather than presenting a finished composition, the print foregrounds structure, color, and form.
Origins of Hammer and Sickle (Special Edition) 167
Warhol developed the Hammer and Sickle series after encountering communist graffiti during a trip to Italy in 1976. The symbol appeared widely in public space and often seemed detached from direct political advocacy. For Warhol, this ubiquity transformed the hammer and sickle into a visual motif circulating through popular culture.
After returning to the United States, Warhol asked assistant Ronnie Cutrone to purchase a hammer and sickle and photograph them from multiple angles. These photographs became the basis for Warhol’s screens, grounding the series in physical objects rather than abstract emblems.
Form, Color, and Deconstruction
In Hammer and Sickle (Special Edition) 167, Warhol emphasizes shape over detail. The hammer appears blunt and rectangular, while the sickle takes on a sharper, angular profile. A deep red dominates the composition, echoing the color traditionally associated with the communist flag. However, the added gray shadow gives the tools weight and dimensionality.
The shadow also replaces the star found in the original emblem. As a result, Warhol further distances the image from ideology. Unlike later impressions such as 169 or 170, this print contains no hand-drawn elements. Instead, it focuses on mass, balance, and spatial tension.
Hammer and Sickle (Special Edition) 167 in Warhol’s Larger Body of Work
During the 1970s, the hammer and sickle remained a charged symbol in the United States, shaped by anxieties of the Cold War. Warhol acknowledged this climate but resisted moral commentary. He once remarked that Americans were already beginning to think and act alike, suggesting that ideological fear often exaggerates difference.
In this context, Hammer and Sickle (Special Edition) 167 functions less as political statement and more as cultural observation. By treating the tools as objects first and symbols second, Warhol exposes how meaning attaches itself to images. The print reflects his late-career interest in process, repetition, and the unstable boundary between art, symbol, and popular consciousness.
Photo credit: Andy Warhol poses with Victor Hugo, who holds the original hammer and sickle artist used in the works, at the opening of his “Hammer & Sickle” show at the Castelli Gallery, New York, January 11, 1977. Photo by Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images.
