Part of Warhol’s iconic series of portraits of the American elite, this painting from 1980 depicts two siblings, a brother and a sister, most likely the children of a titan of industry, in Warhol’s signature silkscreen style. Following in the tradition of society painters before him, the artist’s relationship to his sitters was largely symbiotic: the aloof and withdrawn Warhol benefitted financially from portrait commissions, while the subjects were forever immortalised on canvas. These 40 x 40 inch portraits became status symbols, emblematic of the American excess of the 1980s. Nevertheless, in this double portrait Warhol projects his own nuanced approach to painting, rendering the two children timeless symbols of youth.

The two children are strikingly similar, emphasising the inevitable progression of age. Warhol chooses to highlight this shift by giving emphasis to the younger child, drawing attention to his eyes and mouth with bolder outlines. The rapid pace of Warhol’s silkscreen production technique alludes to the quick and fleeting nature of innocence, which the artist so perfectly captures. Perhaps the most prolific portraitist to emerge from Post-War America, Andy Warhol transformed a simple portrait of two children into a wistful exploration of childhood progression.