In his production of celebrity portraits, Andy Warhol initially appropriated images from the media, as exemplified by his iconic portrayal of Marilyn Monroe. However, in the 1970s, he began to explore the medium of photography and developed his own portrait practice, turning his polaroid camera towards some of the 20th century icons in his orbit. One such star was rock legend and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, who drew Warhol in with his bad-boy image, flamboyant style, and unforgettable persona.
“Image is so important to rock stars. Mick Jagger is the rock star with the longest running image. He's the one all the young white kids copy. That's why every detail of his appearance is important.”
—Andy Warhol
The two stars first met in New York in 1964 at a party to celebrate the release of the band’s debut studio album The Rolling Stones. In that same year, the Rolling Stones also recorded the single “Time Is on My Side,” which became the band’s first top ten hit in the United States, and meanwhile, Warhol produced some of his most pivotal work, including Race Riot and Electric Chair, both of which were part of his distinctive Death and Disasters series. Jagger and Warhol’s friendship would go on to become one of legend, a powerful celebrity relationship that would ignite several years of artistic collaboration. In 1971, Warhol designed the iconic cover for the Rolling Stones’ album Sticky Fingers, a suggestive close-up of Joe Dallesandro’s crotch in jeans.
In the summer of 1975, Jagger rented Warhol’s house in Montauk to allow the band to focus on preparing for their sixth American tour. While there, Warhol photographed Jagger bare-chested with only a chain around his neck, capturing him in a variety of moods and expressions to be implemented as the source imagery for the ensuing screenprint portfolio. Warhol combined photographic images with torn paper collage, as well as superimposed drawing - techniques which would become staples of Warhol’s later work. These abstract blocks of colour and gestural drawn lines produced expressive and dynamic imagery, accentuating the subject’s movements. The resulting portfolio consisted of ten screenprints, a distinction Warhol had only previously bestowed upon Marilyn Monroe and Mao Zedong. Furthermore, the Mick Jagger portfolio is the largest number of screenprints developed from Warhol’s personal photographs of a single figure. The project was a uniquely collaborative effort which successfully captured the celebrity status of both Jagger and Warhol, as illustrated by the presence of both stars’ signatures on the final prints.