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Lot Essay
Andy Warhol’s The Complete Athletes Series demonstrates the changing nature of fame in the 1970s, granting athletes the Pop Art treatment that was previously reserved for movie stars and musicians. Art collector Richard Weisman commissioned the portraits in 1977 with an ambitious goal in mind: he hoped to “inspire people who loved sport to come into galleries, maybe for the first time, and people who liked art would take their first look at a sports superstar" (R. Wiseman quoted in K. Casprowiak, "Warhol's Athlete Series Celebrity Sport Stars", Andy Warhol: The Athlete Series, London, 2007, p. 71). The series marked a new terrain for Warhol, who had little familiarity with sports. Nonetheless, he excelled, capturing the unique personalities and public personas of each sports figure. Warhol photographed eleven athletes, although only ten were ultimately depicted in series. The final series depicts O.J. Simpson, Dorothy Hamill, Pelé, Jack Nicklaus, Rod Gilbert, Muhammad Ali, Tom Seaver, Willie Shoemaker, Chris Evert, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar, each an athletic legend in the 1970s. Warhol then applied silkscreen prints of the polaroid photos onto pre-painted canvases. Finally, he left forceful marks of paint, using a palette knife and his own fingers to manipulate the images. The result is a set of remarkably textured, highly-stylized and expressive portraits that draw upon Warhol’s longstanding fascination with celebrity.
Warhol’s portrait of basketball icon Kareem Abdul Jabbar grabs hold of the athlete’s intensity and magnifies it, his searing gaze fixing the viewer into place. The basketball star stares straight out at the viewer, his pupils wide and discerning, round and all-seeing. His features are slightly faded, with the bridge of his nose and the lines of his lips unintelligible, yet this absence does not detract from the severity of the basketball player’s facial expression. Warhol’s choice of color in this work takes the viewer’s eye on a journey throughout the canvas. Broad strokes of vibrant purple fill the background and form a harsh contrast with the icy blue of Abdul Jabbar’s hand and the basketball he palms, while the muted orange of his face draws the dark ink of his features and broad shoulders into high relief. There is almost a spotlight effect on the basketball, which looks noticeably smaller than usual once clutched by the athlete’s large hand. In this highlighting of the ball and the body part that dominates it, there is a subtle parallel to the obvious marks left by the painter’s hand: two artists and the implements of their crafts. At this point in his career, Abdul Jabbar was a household name. This portrait acknowledges the physical prowess of the player in its use of space, as half of the canvas is taken up by Abdul Jabbar’s hand and the basketball in it. However, the work also honors the athlete as a pensive thinker, his wide set gaze both intense and curious, potent and searching.
Despite transitioning from the glamorous circles of movie stars to the sports arena, Warhol showcases how popular athletes performed in the public eye. The Complete Athletes Series depicts its subjects with care, conveying each athlete’s charisma through bright, gestural brushstrokes.
Warhol’s portrait of basketball icon Kareem Abdul Jabbar grabs hold of the athlete’s intensity and magnifies it, his searing gaze fixing the viewer into place. The basketball star stares straight out at the viewer, his pupils wide and discerning, round and all-seeing. His features are slightly faded, with the bridge of his nose and the lines of his lips unintelligible, yet this absence does not detract from the severity of the basketball player’s facial expression. Warhol’s choice of color in this work takes the viewer’s eye on a journey throughout the canvas. Broad strokes of vibrant purple fill the background and form a harsh contrast with the icy blue of Abdul Jabbar’s hand and the basketball he palms, while the muted orange of his face draws the dark ink of his features and broad shoulders into high relief. There is almost a spotlight effect on the basketball, which looks noticeably smaller than usual once clutched by the athlete’s large hand. In this highlighting of the ball and the body part that dominates it, there is a subtle parallel to the obvious marks left by the painter’s hand: two artists and the implements of their crafts. At this point in his career, Abdul Jabbar was a household name. This portrait acknowledges the physical prowess of the player in its use of space, as half of the canvas is taken up by Abdul Jabbar’s hand and the basketball in it. However, the work also honors the athlete as a pensive thinker, his wide set gaze both intense and curious, potent and searching.
Despite transitioning from the glamorous circles of movie stars to the sports arena, Warhol showcases how popular athletes performed in the public eye. The Complete Athletes Series depicts its subjects with care, conveying each athlete’s charisma through bright, gestural brushstrokes.