2019.10
Polar Bear
Artist
Andy Warhol (Andrew Warhola)
(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 8/6/1928 - 2/22/1987, New York, New York)
Title
Polar Bear
Creation Date
1983
Century
late 20th century
Dimensions
23 1/4 x 31 3/4 in. (59.06 x 80.65 cm)
Object Type
drawing
Creation Place
North America, United States
Medium and Support
graphite on hmp paper
Credit Line
Gift of Jeremy T. Goldsmith of the Class of 2004 and Donald A. Goldsmith of the Class of 1965 and their Greenacres Acquisition Fund
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
2019.10
Warhol’s early screen-prints typically de-contextualized everyday objects to void their meaning and gave them new life as clichés of media culture. Warhol then carried this treatment to portraits of celebrities and subjects of political sensitivity that rejected customary interpretations and judgments. This drawing is a preparatory study for the screen-print portfolio Endangered Species, which was published in 1983 by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in support of animals protected by the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA). Although a Polar Bear does not appear—and was not added to the ESA until 2008—scholars believe that Warhol drew (most likely traced from a photographic image) this image as he was exploring its possible use in the series. Such tracings were a necessary step in preparation of the screens used for printing. The drawing of the polar bear is all the more fascinating for the fact that this image did not make the cut.
