Herman Hesse
1984
This portrait presents a male subject wearing round framed eyeglasses and a collared shirt against a vibrant red background. The work employs Warhol's characteristic silkscreen printing technique, rendering the figure in bold purple and blue tones that create a striking contrast with the warm background. The subject's direct gaze and composed expression suggest a figure of intellectual significance. The simplified forms and limited color palette are hallmarks of pop art portraiture, transforming a photographic source into a graphic icon.
- Medium
- acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas
- Overall
- Spotted At
- Auction House · Sotheby's
Notes
Contemporary Day Auction, Sotheby's, sale on 2026-05-15.
🔨 Auction Lot
Contemporary Day Auction
May 15, 2026
Estimate: $400,000 – $600,000
For Sale
Artists in conversation
Roy Lichtenstein
American · b. 1923
Lichtenstein shared Warhol's commitment to Pop Art by transforming mass media imagery and consumer culture into high art. Both artists elevated commercial and popular sources through bold graphic techniques that questioned the boundary between fine art and everyday imagery.
Richard Hamilton
British · b. 1922
Hamilton pioneered the use of consumer advertising and celebrity imagery as artistic subject matter in ways that directly parallel Warhol's preoccupations. His collage work incorporating mass media products and glossy commercial aesthetics makes him an essential discovery for any Warhol collector.
Takashi Murakami
Japanese · b. 1962
Murakami mirrors Warhol's practice of blending fine art with commercial production, celebrity culture, and serialized imagery through his Superflat movement. Like Warhol he operates studios that function as factories and collaborates with luxury brands, deliberately dissolving the line between art and commerce.
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