Ladies and Gentlemen 134 by Andy Warhol is one of ten screenprints from the Ladies and Gentlemen portfolio. The series showcases Black and Latinx drag queen performers and trans models from New York’s queer community. Warhol created the portfolio in 1975 at the request of art dealer Luciano Anselmino. Anselmino was a protege of Alexander Iolas, and previously introduced Warhol to Man Ray, who Warhol photographed and painted soon after. When Warhol flew to Torino to sign the Man Ray prints, Anselmino suggested he explore the subject of drag queens.
Warhol initially wanted the portfolio to feature certain well-known drag queens from Manhattan, but struggled to find them. Instead, he enlisted the help of Bob Colacello, editor of Interview magazine, to scout for Black and Latinx models at the Gilded Grape nightclub, located near the Factory. He would ask night club revelers to pose “for a friend,” offering them fifty dollars in exchange.
All of the screenprints from the Ladies and Gentlemen portfolio have similar appearance and style, with all of the models posed in theatric positions in a monochromatic base image. Each portrait also includes various color blocks transposed across their figure, highlighting certain features Warhol found interesting. In Ladies and Gentlemen 134, the model’s head rests on her hand, as if her arm was balanced on a surface. She maintains a neutral facial expression with her eyes gazing past the viewer. Warhol incorporates shades of light brown, subtle light blue, and pink in the form of color blocks laid across her face, chest, and surrounding areas of her hair.
Although the drag queen in Ladies and Gentlemen 134 remained anonymous and uncredited at publication—along with the other models featured in the portfolio—Warhol portrays her in the likeness of his other celebrity portraits. Specifically, there is aesthetic similarity to Reigning Queens, while the subject of drag “queens” in Ladies and Gentlemen suggests a connection to the royal queens by way of glamour and adornment. While the portfolio does portray glamour and opulence, it additionally addresses the concept of identity and gender. The portfolio depicts models who are trans, non-binary, or dressed as drag queens, in portraits that challenge gender norms. The idea for the portfolio to address such concepts initially came from Anselmino, who also suggested the title Ladies and Gentlemen as a further play on words. The portfolio furthermore shed light on the gay liberation movement, and gave a spotlight to members of New York’s underrepresented queer community.
