Queen Ntombi Twala of Swaziland 349 was created by Andy Warhol in 1985 as part of his “Reigning Queens” series. Other queens in the series include Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The portfolio consists of sixteen screenprints. Warhol depicts these four female monarchs in their own right, rather than as women who were married to a king. Warhol also did another series of Reigning Queens (Royal Edition), in which the images were accented with diamond dust. This particular print is a trial proof, meaning that it was taken out of the regular edition prints. Trial proofs are completely unique, as they have color and/or compositional changes, which are not part of the edition prints; no two prints are alike.
Queen Ntombi Twala of Swaziland 349 Trial Proof as Part of Andy Warhol’s Larger Body of Work
Andy Warhol created the Reigning Queens series during the mid-1980s, arguably his most prolific period. During this time, Warhol was forming bonds with a number of younger artists in the New York art scene including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Julian Schnabel and David Salle. Warhol saw a re-emergence of critical and financial success during this period of his life.
Photo credit: Queen Ntombi Twala in 2016. Unknown photographer.
