Bighorn Ram 302 by Andy Warhol is a screenprint from his 1983 Endangered Species portfolio. The artwork presents a close-up of a bighorn sheep, its sweeping green horns dominating the frame. Deep navy tones envelop the ram’s body, while bright yellow and orange accents define its muzzle. The composition is serene yet striking, emphasizing the animal’s strength through calm color and deliberate line. With its soft contrast and quiet dignity, Bighorn Ram 302 closes Warhol’s Endangered Species series on a note of grace and resilience.
Warhol’s Endangered Species and the American Wilderness
Warhol completed the Endangered Species series in 1983 at the invitation of gallerists Ronald and Frayda Feldman. Both were active environmental advocates who sought to raise awareness of animal conservation through contemporary art. Moreover, the project coincided with a growing public concern about habitat destruction and declining species worldwide, ten years after the passing of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
In Bighorn Ram 302, Warhol highlights a species native to the mountain ranges of western North America. The male ram, known for its massive curved horns, became a symbol of wilderness and survival in the harshest terrains. During Warhol’s time, bighorn sheep populations were dwindling due to overhunting, disease, and habitat loss. Thanks to sustained conservation efforts, the species later rebounded. It is now listed as of “least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The ram’s recovery adds historical depth to Warhol’s print—what was once an emblem of fragility now represents resilience.
Color, Form, and Restraint
Unlike the neon intensity of Warhol’s Siberian Tiger or Giant Panda, Bighorn Ram 302 uses a subtler palette. Muted blues and greens dominate the composition, interrupted only by flashes of yellow along the muzzle and ear. The horns—rendered in layered lime and shadowed green—spiral outward like a natural sculpture. Warhol’s hand-drawn outlines trace each curve and fold, animating the ram’s texture and anatomy without overpowering its calm expression.
This restraint gives the work a meditative quality. The off-white background enhances the stillness of the animal, while the faint double outlines recall Warhol’s early experiments with layered imagery. Through this approach, Warhol transforms the ram from a wildlife subject into a quiet Pop icon—a portrait of endurance rather than spectacle.
Bighorn Ram 302 in Warhol’s Larger Body of Work
Bighorn Ram 302 concludes Warhol’s Endangered Species portfolio and stands among his most reflective works of the 1980s. It belongs to a decade defined by his mastery of silkscreen layering, color separation, and composition. The print also continues his dialogue between nature and fame, between survival and representation.
By applying the same visual language he once used for celebrities to animals on the brink of extinction, Warhol blurred the boundaries between art, activism, and pop culture. Alongside works like Pine Barrens Tree Frog and Bald Eagle, this piece reinforces Warhol’s environmental vision while maintaining his signature style of stylized realism.
Today, Bighorn Ram 302 remains a poignant testament to the balance between vulnerability and strength—both in nature and in art.
Photo credit: Brownie Harris, photograph of Andy Warhol with Endangered Species screenprints, The Factory, NYC, 1982.
