Andy Warhol General Custer FS II.379 For Sale

The Cowboys and Indians series consists of ten screen prints, all produced on Lenox Museum Board, including General Custer (F. & S. II.379 ). Warhol usually uses clichéd people and items in this series to depict America's idealised perception of the American West. The selection of General Custer as the print's subject, who was largely to blame for the annihilation of Native American territory, can be interpreted as a symbol of the way that American acts in the West were exalted in the popular imagination. In fact, Warhol made a concerted attempt to depict a popular version of the West, the kind that everyone who has watched Western films and TV knows, rather than depicting Native Americans and Cowboys in their historical environment.

The image used in Warhol’s General Custer was based on a historical black and white photograph from around 1865, the final year of the American Civil War. In the image, Custer is wearing the iconic Union general uniform, complete with scarf and helmet. The shirt is neatly ironed and faintly wrinkled, with yellow rank decorations. All in all, it is stately and uncomplicated, standing in stark contrast to the Native Americans' naturalist attire in the series. His beard and moustache draw attention to his powerful chin. Known as the "Top Indian fighter," General Custer led the Union Army in the American Civil War and engaged in combat with Native Americans throughout the American Indian Wars. At the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Sitting Bull, the chief of the Sioux tribe, and his army of Plains Indians killed General Custer. Great public relations were devoted to General Custer over the 19th and much of the 20th centuries. Highly regarded during his lifetime, his death further elevated him to the status of a legendary American hero. The well-known artwork "Custer's Last Stand" was utilised by breweries like Anheuser-Busch in their advertising campaign, and his wife penned memoirs about his humanitarian activities.

Like the other characters and items in the series, General Custer draws visual cues from this classic Western narrative. Warhol undermines essential historical integrity in General Custer by divorcing the person from the setting. However, Warhol's pop art approach maintains a degree of coherence concerning the figures while introducing stylistic drama to draw in viewers through the magnificent colours and exquisite details. In Cowboys and Indians, opposing forces—Custer and Sitting Bull in particular—are depicted together, blatantly commenting on the false narratives we have been taught about these people's lives and the ongoing fascination we have with them.

Buy Andy Warhol Annie Oakley FS II.379

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