Andy Warhol
Shadow (Diamond Dust)
1978
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Andy Warhol
Shadow (Diamond Dust)
1978
Physical Qualities
Synthetic polymer paint, diamond dust, and silkscreen ink on canvas, 77 3/4 x 52 in. (197.5 x 132.1 cm.)
Credit Line
Purchase with exchange funds from the Samuel and Tobie Miller Memorial Collection
Object Number
1992.43
Andy Warhol turned to abstraction in his Shadow (Diamond Dust) series, marking a radical shift from his popular, vibrant representations of cultural icons and commodity symbols. While still representational, these paintings depict images of actual shadows photographed in his studio, screenprinted onto canvas, and embellished with paint and inexpensive crushed glass that he referred to as “diamond dust.”
The resulting paintings feel mysterious and enigmatic. The glitz and glimmer of the diamond dust confuse an austere reading of these strikingly monochromatic works. In life, as shadows change and vanish, we understand them as both something and nothing. These paintings concentrate on the unseen, the unknown, and perhaps the unsaid.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1992; from Sotheby's, New York; Peder Bonnier, New York, by purchase; from Gagosian Gallery, New York, 1992; from Warhol Estate
Julian Schnabel (introduction), "Andy Warhol: Shadow Paintings," Gagosian Gallery, New York, November 1989, p. 33, illustrated in color.
Joseph D. Ketner II, "Andy Warhol: The Last Decade," Milwaukee Art Museum, September 23, 2009-January 3, 2010; circulated to Museum of Modern Art, Fort Worth, February 15-May 15, 2010; Brooklyn Museum of Art, June 18-September 12, 2010; and The Baltimore Museum of Art, October 17, 2010-January 9, 2011 [partial circulation to Baltimore and Brooklyn only].
Joseph D. Ketner II, "Andy Warhol: The Last Decade," Milwaukee Art Museum, September 23, 2009-January 3, 2010; circulated to Museum of Modern Art, Fort Worth, February 15-May 15, 2010; Brooklyn Museum of Art, June 18-September 12, 2010; and The Baltimore Museum of Art, October 17, 2010-January 9, 2011 [partial circulation to Baltimore and Brooklyn only].
Joseph D. Ketner II, "Andy Warhol: The Last Decade," Milwaukee/New York: Milwaukee Art Museum/DelMonico Books, 2009, no. 20, pp. 110, 207, ill. p. 110.
De Salvo, Donna M. Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 2018.
Inscribed: FRONT: none. BACK: inscribed on stretchers: u.l.left side (pencil), math equation, '63 (over, plus) 15 (over, equals) 78'; center horiztontal stretcher, c., upside down, (black ink), 'PA65.065'; (black ink), upside down, '29-102-3032'; (pencil), l.r., r. side, math equation, '93-1/2 (over, minus) 12-1/4 (over, equals) 81.1/4'; Labels: c., horiz. stretcher, l., Gagosian Gallery... Andy Warhol/Shadows (underlined) 1980 065/Synthetic polymer silkscreened/on canvas with diamond dust/76x52-1/4 inches'; white sticker, upside down, r. of c., (stamped) '#6290/(red ink) x 327'; c. vert. stretcher, down from c., upside down, (2 auction labels?) 'B/8336778/10'.
