Apple 359 by Andy Warhol shows the classic rainbow Apple logo centered against a soft pink background. The apple shape is filled with bright horizontal bands of green, yellow, orange, red, and blue. Warhol outlines the logo with loose sketch marks, giving the emblem a lively, hand-drawn feel. Below the image, the word “Macintosh” appears in textured blue lettering, adding a playful contrast to the clean logo above. As a result, the logo gains a lively, handmade quality that separates it from Apple’s clean commercial design.
Apple 359 and the 1985 Ads Portfolio
Apple 359 appears in Warhol’s 1985 Ads portfolio. The series features well-known advertising images from the 1950s through the 1980s, including Chanel, Life Savers, Van Heusen, Volkswagen, and Disney. Warhol treated these advertisements much like he treated celebrities. He believed they had their own power, mythology, and cultural influence. Consequently, Apple 359 becomes more than a logo. It becomes an emblem of the rising digital age.
Commission, Context, and Apple’s Early Momentum
Warhol created Apple 359 in 1985 after Apple’s first COO, Del Yocam, commissioned the image. The print arrived one year after Apple released the first Macintosh computer. Because of this timing, the work feels deeply tied to the optimism and ambition of early personal computing.
Warhol keeps the rainbow logo intact but places it against a soft pink ground with streaks of warm color. The result is a print that feels both nostalgic and forward-looking. Even though the design is simple, it captures Apple’s youthful energy at a key moment in the company’s history.
Warhol, Steve Jobs, and the First Macintosh
One of the most remarkable aspects of Apple 359 is its direct connection to Steve Jobs. Warhol met Jobs in 1985 at Sean Lennon’s ninth birthday party. Jobs gave Sean a Macintosh as a gift and demonstrated MacPaint to Warhol, Keith Haring, and Kenny Scharf. Warhol wrote about the moment in his diary. He explained, “I said that once some man had been calling me a lot wanting to give me one, but that I’d never called him back… and then the kid looked up and said, ‘Yeah, that was me. I’m Steve Jobs.’” Warhol added, “He looked so young, like a college guy. And he told me he would still send me one now.”
Jobs then taught Warhol how to draw on the computer. Warhol confessed he felt “so old and out of it” beside the young inventor who helped build the machine. This story, now tied to Apple 359, give the print a special resonance for collectors who admire Jobs and the history of Apple.
Apple 359 and Warhol’s View of Branding
Throughout his career, Warhol understood the power of logos and trademarks. He saw them as modern icons that shaped how people consumed culture. Because Apple 359 amplifies a logo that would later become one of the most recognizable symbols in the world, the print holds a unique place in the Ads portfolio. It shows how Warhol connected branding with identity, influence, and desire. While Apple was not yet the global giant it would become, Warhol sensed the cultural force behind the Macintosh brand. Today, Apple 359 is valued for its vibrant palette, its direct connection to Jobs, and its intersection between Pop Art and early digital technology.
Photo credit: Steve Jobs showing Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf how to use a Macintosh computer
given to Sean Lennon for his ninth birthday, 1984. Courtesy of Vintage Everyday, New York.
