Andy Warhol Sunset (Blue/Red/Purple) screenprint. Square image with revolver watermark.
Andy Warhol - Sunset F.S. II 88 sig blur jpg
Warhol Sunset 87 Wall Display

Sunset (Blue/Red/Purple)

Catalog Title: Sunset (Blue/Red/Purple)
Year: 1972
Size: 34" x 34"
Medium: Screenprint on paper
Edition: Edition of 632. 40 portfolios containing four prints each. Signed and numbered in pencil on verso. Remaining 472 prints were used for the Hotel Marquette in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1981, they were signed and numbered x/470 and dated in pencil on verso, and two were marked HC. Stamped in black on verso Hotel Marquette Prints.
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Andy Warhol’s Sunset (Blue/Red/Purple) was inspired by sunsets in East Hampton, San Francisco and New York, which he shot reels of with his camera. It presents a harmonious combination of red and pink hues with the bright blue sun as the focal point. As simple as this piece looks, it has become one of Warhol’s most favored works, possibly because of the simplicity. Each Sunset print is completely unique in color and/or composition because all of the works are based off of different stills from Warhol’s film.

Sunset (Blue/Red/Purple) as Part of Andy Warhol’s Larger Body of Work

The Sunset portfolio was produced in 1972 on smooth wove paper. This series is an extreme example of the concept of color serialization. The screenprint was produced at an unheard of number of 472 unique color variations with the use of only three screens. The Sunset portfolio is considered to be one of Warhol’s more expressive projects he produced in his lifetime. The commission for the work was made by Johnson & Burgee who are famed architects. The series was installed in the rooms of the renovated Hotel Marquette in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After the prints were removed from the hotel, they were signed, numbered and stamped.

Photo credit: Film still from Andy Warhol, Sunset, 1967. 16mm film, color, sound, 33 minutes. © 2016 The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, a museum of Carnegie Institute. All rights reserved. Film still courtesy The Andy Warhol Museum.

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