The exhibition was initially met with criticism – one commentator said of Warhol, “This young 'artist' is either a soft-headed fool or a hard-headed charlatan,” while Willem de Kooning famously called him “a killer of beauty” – and only a small number of the works were sold, the first to actor Dennis Hopper. Once Warhol had gained critical and popular acclaim in the late ’60s and ’70s, however, Ferus Gallery owner Irving Blum regretted selling the works individually and bought the paintings back in order to maintain the series – an effort which is said to have cemented their legacy. In 1996 he sold the entire set of paintings for a reported $15 million to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where they can still be seen on display today. Single canvases from the wider Campbell’s Soup painting series –which can reach anything from $4 million to $9million at auction – can be found in public collections all over the world.
The original 32 works on canvas were created entirely by hand, using a process of under-drawing, painting and stamping. Later works from the collection would be printed using the silk screen method on canvas and in 1968 he began producing screen-printed portfolios of the soup cans on paper (Campbell’s Soup I and Campbell’s Soup II). The ubiquitous tin also appeared in his Reversals and Retrospectives series and the subject remained one of his favourites throughout his career. As he once said, “I should have just done the Campbell’s Soups and kept on doing them…everybody only does one painting anyway.”
Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup works are typical of his practice: they contain within them ideas that would establish the artist’s position as the pioneer of Pop and continue to influence generations of artists over 30 years after his death. It is in these pieces that Warhol’s preoccupation with consumerism, appropriation, reproduction, mass media and the democratisation of commercial culture come to the fore. The artist’s first Campbell’s Soup Can paintings introduced an idea central to Warhol’s oeuvre; that not only is everyday life valuable artistic subject matter, but that art is indeed inseparable from everyday life.
In this series and beyond, Warhol deliberately rejected the individualistic ideals of the Abstract Expressionist movement that predated him, seeking instead an art form that was no longer defined by the craftsmanship of the artist or an ideology of uniqueness but spoke to the masses through its subject and processes. These works replicate the direct visual language of advertising and employ the artist's strategy of reproducing the same image in series in order to empty a subject of its meaning through repetition. The resultant image is powerfully ambiguous and has become an icon that continues to circulate in the worlds of contemporary art, fashion and advertising. Warhol's Campbell's Soup works are not only important for their position in the development of American Pop Art and their place in the timeline of Warhol's career, they were also remarkably prescient of the fascination with brands that still pervades this period of late capitalism, and for that they remain striking not just in their aesthetics but their continued relevance.
Many stories suggest that Warhol painted the now iconic collection due to his profilic consumption of the famous soups as a customer. This personal connection combined with the suggestion of a friend that he paint something recognisable to everyday Americans, led to the choice of this iconic US brand.
Tales of Warhol as a penniless artist in New York City quaffing tins of soup for twenty years straight abound - thanks to the artist himself. In an interview in later life, he commented "I used to drink it. I used to have the same lunch every day, for 20 years, I guess, the same thing over and over again." A perfect quote, given Warhol's fame for repetition & commentary on mass production.
Given his background in advertising & love of bold visual motifs, the cans also appealed to his sensibility of blurring the distinctions between advertising & design and fine art - though he had nothing to do with the original design of the Campbell's Soup Cans.
Today the 32 Campbell's Soup Cans can be viewed at the New York Museum of Modern Art.
One of the easiest and most affordable ways of buying work by Andy Warhol is by using MyArtBroker to reach a seller. MyArtBroker is a curated site, meaning we feature artists based on our clients’ interests. You can browse artworks by Andy Warhol for sale here however you’ll need to create a free account to buy or sell with us.
If you're looking to sell art by Andy Warhol, we can help. We employ a number of techniques and practices in order to give a realistic and achievable valuation on any artworks listed on myartbroker.com. We analyse the demand for the work in question, take into consideration previous gallery sales and auction valuations, and monitor the current deals happening via MyArtBroker every day. We are happy to advise sellers on a price bracket for their artwork completely free of charge.
