Andy Warhol published the Marilyn Monroe complete portfolio in 1967. It comprises ten silkscreen prints depicting cinema’s “it girl”. Marking an early indication of his later-trademark style, the majority of the pieces strongly reflect the loud colors and vibrant energy of the times. The vibrant pinks, deep reds, and neon greens all provide bright contrast that defined the Pop Art movement, and cemented the still-globally identifiable Pop aesthetic.
The Marilyn Monroe portfolio also comprises the first prints published by Andy Warhol’s printing company, called Factory Additions, which he started in order to produce his signature high-volume print sets. Moreover, the series is among his most valuable portfolios ever sold as well as one of the most recognizable sets of images in American iconography.
Marilyn Monroe as a Cultural Icon
Andy Warhol’s cultural dominance emerged with the advent of the 1960’s. His iconic depictions of popular American products like Campbell’s Soup and Coca-Cola bottles made him a household name, and a lightning rod for controversy. Despite the polarizing reactions to his appropriative techniques, his artistic repurposing of celebrity identities are arguably what made his style a commanding cultural force——one that’s still universally recognized today. The most significant of these works is certainly the Marilyn Monroe portfolio. Here, Warhol famously created “an icon out of an icon,” immortalizing the actress forever.
From Publicity Still to Pop Masterpiece
All ten screenprints in the portfolio are based on a single image, manipulated with his perfectly pop perspective. For the Marilyn prints, he used a publicity photograph taken by Gene Korman for Monroe’s 1953 film Niagara. Warhol’s photograph selection provoked an early controversy about his use of copyrighted material and his artistic integrity. This debate would surround many of the artist’s most notable pieces and persist into the present-day.
In Warhol’s early work, his use of a publicity still mirrors his use of branded imagery. Just as he fixated on the commodification of products like Campbell’s Soup, he also examined the commodification of personality. In other words, he blurred the line between brand and personhood.
The Marilyn Monroe portfolio offers a clear example. It presents Monroe’s larger-than-life persona as a purchasable product—packaged, blonde, and sold as the portrait of the American Dream. Works like this revealed a signature element of Warhol’s style: his ability to magnify an already famous image while both celebrating and parodying cultural iconography.
Death, Fame, and Repetition
Warhol created his Marilyn Monroe print series five years after her suicide in 1962. Consequently, much of her posthumous fame focused on her status as a tragic figure, defined in the national conversation by her untimely overdose. For Warhol, her continuously evolving fame revealed a potent power in death and highlighted an increasing societal interest in the macabre. Moreover, the artist attributed this to the swiftly advancing digital milieu and incessant tragic imagery, which he explores in his Death and Disaster series.
In his Marilyn Monroe artworks, Warhol portrays this developing, dark habit with a haunting repetition of the same photograph. In contrast, the colorful and lively projections of Monroe resemble the persona which attracted the limelight. Nevertheless, the image echoes of an everlasting stillness and the person behind the facade. Permanently printed in her youth and glamour, the images are a frozen portal to her illustrious movie career, a reminder of her tragic destiny. In time, this indelible image has become an American cultural emblem. As such, the portfolio not only stands out as an crowning artistic achievement, but as an important piece of American history as well.
Marilyn Monroe as Part of Andy Warhol’s Larger Body of Work
Ultimately, the Marilyn Monroe portfolio is, in every way, a defining series for Andy Warhol. The depiction of Monroe stirs some of the most provocative ideas in Warhol’s artistic philosophy. Furthermore, the repetitive nature of the series, which Warhol mass-produced at his Silver Factory, suggests his own personal commodification of Monroe’s identity and completes his cyclical approach to consumerist art. Aesthetically, the style characterizes the absolute gold standard of Pop Art: deliciously marketed and ready-to-purchase. The portraits’ fame and cultural purchase reflect Andy Warhol’s deepest aspirations and contributions to our understanding of what art is.
After the the success of the Campbell’s Soup series, Warhol began creating screenprints of movie star portraits. Soon after, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marlon Brando were among them. In addition, Warhol expanded into the realm of performance art. His traveling multimedia show, The Exploding Plastic Inevitable, featured the rock band The Velvet Underground. Warhol also worked with his Superstar performers and various other people to create hundreds of films between 1963 and 1968. These films were scripted and improvised, ranging from conceptual experiments and simple narratives to short portraits and sexploitation features. Some of his works include Empire (1964), The Chelsea Girls (1966), and The Screen Tests (1964-66).
