Sidney Janis [Eight Works]

Painted in 1967, Sidney Janis is Andy Warhol’s personal tribute to the legendary collector and dealer who did much to develop and sustain his early career. Screened in a verdant combination of green and white, Warhol depicts images of Janis from childhood through to adulthood, providing a touching visual biography of one of the most important figures in the 20th century art history. Building on his earlier paintings of Hollywood stars Elizabeth Taylor and Elvis Presley, in this 1967 work, Warhol continues his interrogation into the nature of mass media and photography by repeating and reproducing images over several canvases. In 1962, Sidney Janis organized what is considered to be the first ever exhibition of Pop Art, an exhibition which prominently featured the work of a young artist called Andy Warhol. As such, Sidney Janis become a very personal and fitting tribute to two of the postwar artistic canons towering figures.