Andy Warhol Flowers For Sale

Flowers is a single lithograph print executed in 1964, part of Warhol’s widely known and celebrated Flowers series. It is a striking example of Warhol’s aptitude for colour and form, reappropriating a photograph taken by Patricia Caulfield, ‘Hibiscus Flowers’, beyond recognition. 

Vibrant and exuberant, four flowers in orange and red hues appear against luscious green grass. The artist has forsaken detail and dimension in favour of playful flat blocks of colour: Warhol’s flowers are natural only in subject matter and foray into the realm of the abstract. For critics, the lithograph was an unexpected departure from the themes the artist was known for – consumerism, media and celebrity.  

Patricia Caulfield’s original image captured Warhol’s eye so much that he would devote a portfolio of ten screenprints to it in 1970. Flowers can be seen as the hallmark of Warhol’s style over subject matter – arguably some of the most articulate Pop Art aesthetic is presented in the series.