Andy Warhol
American, 1928-1987
The Kiss (Bela Lugosi)
INV-6901
Andy Warhol
American, 1928-19871963
The Kiss (Bela Lugosi)
Andy Warhol American, 1928-1987 →Pop Artscreenprintprint
Date
1963
Medium
Silkscreen on cream wove paper
Dimensions
74.5 × 100 cm (29 3/8 × 39 3/8 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Purchased with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. Robert O. Delaney and the Prints and Drawings Fund
The Kiss (Bela Lugosi) was an early experiment with the silkscreen process that would transform Andy Warhol’s art; it was also one of only three prints the artist silk-screened onto paper rather than linen. Although the mechanized process lent itself to the quick and easy reproduction of a single image, each version is slightly different because the artist hand-rolled ink across the screen. This work reproduces a still from the 1931 Dracula movie in which Bela Lugosi, as Count Dracula, is about to bite the neck of Mina (played by Helen Chandler). Warhol continued exploring this subject matter later in 1963 with the film Kiss, which consists of various couples acting out the titular embrace.
More works by the artist are on view in Gallery 296C.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
