“I think I was trying to make a statement about the endless recycling of an icon by endlessly recycling an icon.”
—Banksy
Andy Warhol, Marilyn, 1967. Artwork: © 2024 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by DACS, London
Bold, bright and blonde – Banksy’s Kate Moss wittily pays homage to Andy Warhol’s iconic portraits of Marilyn Monroe. Moss flaunts Monroe’s most iconic attributes – her signature curls, flirtatious eyelashes, boldly-defined lips, and prominent beauty-spot. As well as Monroe’s superimposed features, the addition of flat, solid colour in the classic Warholian colourway captures the iconic Pop aesthetic of the twentieth-century icon. Although Moss emulates Monroe so closely, she does not imitate her gaze – whereas Monroe seductively stares straight out at the viewer, Moss gazes into the distance with a tantalizingly nonchalant coolness.
In recreating Warhol’s work in the twenty-first Century, Banksy both praises the artist and adds a new level of criticality. In Marilyn of 1967, Warhol glamorizes fame but simultaneously satirically comments on the notion of celebrity and its position as ‘spectacle’ in consumer culture. Repeating Monroe’s portrait through screenprinting, her image became a commercial product, no longer attached to her as an individual but as a product of her era. Kate Moss is arguably Monroe’s successor: a contemporary fashion icon, she is one of the most famous supermodels of her time. Banksy uses the image of Kate Moss with the same intentions as his predecessor – the commodification of visual icons.“Nobody ever listened to me until they didn’t know who I was.”
—BanksyBy drawing a parallel between Moss and Monroe, Banksy also draws a parallel between Warhol and himself. The two artists are often compared for their cut-to-the-chase approach that communicates witty social commentary whilst using the most straightforward visual language. But, of course, there is one hugely significant difference: whereas Warhol cultivated his own celebrity status and became a star with a widely recognisable image, Banksy has fervently preserved his anonymity. For Monroe, Moss and Warhol, their image has become so crucial to their identity – Banksy, however, is only visualised through his art. Ironically, however, Banksy’s hidden identity has become central to his reputation. When questioned in a 2014 interview why he is so persistent in keeping his identity secret, Banksy said that as well as to undermine the authorities, "the secretiveness is also because I feel this kind of thing creates its own kind of buzz." By concealing his identity, Banksy has become even more alluring. Perhaps, despite his anonymity, Banksy is equally as conscious of the powers of fame as Warhol.Provenance
Steve Lazarides, London
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2005Artist Biography
Banksy
British • 1975 - N/A
Anonymous street artist Banksy first turned to graffiti as a miserable fourteen year old disillusioned with school. Inspired by the thriving graffiti community in his home city, Bristol, Banksy's works began appearing on trains and walls in 1993, and by 2001 his blocky, spray-painted works had cropped up all over the United Kingdom. Typically crafting his images with spray paint and cardboard stencils, Banksy is able to achieve a meticulous level of detail. His aesthetic is clean and instantly readable due to his knack for reducing complex political and social statements to simple visual elements.
His graffiti, paintings and screenprints use whimsy and humour to satirically critique war, capitalism, hypocrisy and greed — with not even the Royal family safe from his anti-establishment wit.
Property from a Private London Collection
161
Kate Moss: Original Colourway
2005
Screenprint in colours, on wove paper, with full margins.
I. 52.8 x 52.8 cm (20 3/4 x 20 3/4 in.)
S. 70.1 x 69.9 cm (27 5/8 x 27 1/2 in.)
Signed, dated and numbered 50/50 in pencil, published by Pictures on Walls, London, with the accompanying Certificate of Authenticity issued by Pest Control, framed.
Estimate
£80,000 - 120,000 ♠
Sold for £101,600
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Evening & Day Editions
London Auction 19 - 20 September 2024
407
This lot is no longer available.
