Andy Warhol’s Michael Jackson 23 is a vivid portrait of the pop icon at the height of his fame. The screenprint captures Jackson’s face in close detail, framed by a halo of curls. Warhol used bold blue for the hair and added red and yellow outlines that emphasize Jackson’s features. The effect is striking: a mix of photographic realism and Warhol’s trademark color-blocking. Jackson’s wide-eyed expression conveys both charm and intensity, embodying the duality of his public persona. Unlike Warhol’s stark black-and-white portraits, Michael Jackson 23 bursts with color and energy, reflecting Jackson’s role as the “King of Pop.” For collectors, it represents one of the most recognizable intersections between Pop Art and pop music.
Michael Jackson and Andy Warhol: Icons of Fame
Few figures understood fame as deeply as Andy Warhol and Michael Jackson. Warhol spent his career chronicling celebrity culture, while Jackson lived it from childhood. Warhol’s diaries mention Jackson more than two dozen times, often recounting casual encounters at clubs, galleries, or events. Their lives reflected opposite poles of stardom: Warhol pursued fame, while Jackson often sought to escape it.
In 1984, their connection became permanent when Time magazine commissioned Warhol to create a cover portrait of Michael Jackson. Warhol’s silkscreen became the March 19, 1984 cover, produced during Jackson’s Thriller era. Though Warhol confessed in his diary that he “didn’t like it,” the Time staff insisted the image would boost sales. Jackson himself reportedly approved of the choice. The portrait now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., as part of its collection of Time magazine covers.
Michael Jackson 23 by Andy Warhol as Part of His Larger Body of Work
The Michael Jackson 23 screenprint belongs to Warhol’s larger series of celebrity portraits from the 1980s. During this period, Warhol produced striking images of stars such as Jane Fonda, Mick Jagger, and Muhammad Ali. Time magazine also turned to Warhol for portraits of cultural figures like Lee Iacocca and John Gotti, further cementing his role as a chronicler of power and celebrity. These works combined commercial commissions with Warhol’s fascination for fame as an artistic subject.
For Warhol, celebrities like Michael Jackson were modern-day icons, as recognizable as soup cans or dollar bills. The bold outlines, vibrant colors, and repetition of his silkscreens mirrored the way fame itself repeated across magazines, billboards, and television. Jackson’s portrait stands out as a perfect subject: an artist whose global reach and enigmatic persona mirrored Warhol’s own obsession with image and identity.
Today, Michael Jackson 23 is regarded as both a portrait of one of the most important entertainers of the 20th century and a testament to Warhol’s role as the ultimate chronicler of celebrity culture.
Photo credit: Michael Jackson and Andy Warhol, 1981. Photo by Lynn Goldsmith, Courtesy of the artist.
