Andy Warhol Campbell's Soup Box Paintings

Warhol`s use of the Campbell Soup motif is probably among his most well known, and most successful images. Like his other product paintings they also demonstrate his fascination with processed food and its presentation via advertising.

Warhol introduced the Campbell Soup motif into his work in 1962, exploring it by painting it in a variety of states. He continued with further series of Campbell Soup motifs in 1963, 1965, 1967, 1979, 1985, and in 1986. Each series presented an alteration of the image by either the size of the canvas and / or coloration. In 1986, however, the introduction of a new form, the soup box rather than the soup can, was new.

Whereas in the early sixties, when Warhol executed his first Campbell Soup can paintings, Campbell sought damages from Warhol, because they considered his appropriation of their product as an infringement of their copywrights. It seems ironic then that in 1985 Campbell approached Warhol to commemorate their new product of Campbell Soup boxes in painting. Warhol did make a painting for Campbell`s new product, and he also took their idea further and executed in 1986 a series of Campbell Soup boxes. Using different soup flavors as motifs, such as Noodle Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Rice Soup, Onion Soup, Onion Mushroom Soup, Warhol experimented with sizes and colours.

The paintings shown at the Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, differ from that series in so far as some of the motifs are overpainted by the artist. After Heads (after Picasso) in 1997 and The Statue of Liberty in 1999 the show of Campbell Soup Boxes represent the third in a series of exhibitions of works by Andy Warhol with these rare overpainted works. The thirty-three works of Campbell Soup Boxes exhibited at our gallery come directly from the estate of Andy Warhol (the Warhol Foundation), and have never been shown before.

A catalogue will be published with a text written by Itzhak Goldberg.