Andy Warhol Jimmy Carter III (F & S II.152) For Sale

Jimmy Carter IIi is the third screenprint in a series released in 1977 of presidential candidate Jimmy Carter. Of the three, this is the only one sketched and then screenprinted. Warhol’s portraits of Carter were commissioned by Carter himself and are a pertinent example of the artist’s wide-reaching involvement and relationships with figures across vastly different worlds; from film stars, to nightclubs to the White House. 

At the fore of the portrait Carter appears happy and smiling, having won his party’s vote in the same year. In direct contrast to his austere expression in Jimmy Carter I, Warhol has emphasised Carter’s smile lines and invigorated the image with red and blue blocks of colour. Even the colouring of his face appears sepia toned rather than black-and-white, indicating Warhol’s emotive understanding of colour and its subtleties.  

Though Warhol is often considered an apolitical artist, the Jimmy Carter series of portraits helps us to understand that in fact Warhol was very responsive to the social and political happenings of his time, even if he often did not explicitly comment on them. This was also a two-way relationship, as political figures felt that Warhol’s immense status would be beneficial to them.