Andy Warhol created his painting Statue of Liberty in 1962. The painting’s subject is, obviously, the Statue of Liberty, repeated twelve times in a 4 by 3 matrix. The painting belongs to the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; however it is being auctioned on November 14th at Christie’s in New York. It is rather large at 80 by 61 inches. To be able to see the entirety of the painting, one must stand back several feet.
The image that appears twelve times in the painting is the Statue of Liberty facing forward from her legs up. One can see most of the statue, including the torch, and the horizon behind her. The painting is composed mostly of a cool blue. In addition to the blue, a vibrant red is included, creating a contrast in the painting. Strangely enough, the painting is not centered, but rather aligned to the right, leaving a lot of unused space on the left. The repetition of the statue forms a harmony of sorts, but the individual coloring creates a small separation.
The original image of the statue appears that it was not painted, though it contrast between the ocean and the sky makes it seem like the picture might have been altered. The sky in the background matches the color of the linen. The image shows the statue dead center with the ocean filling two thirds of it and the sky filling the other third. In a majority of the rectangles there is a splotch of darker blue than what is used on the statue that covers the statue’s torch and torch, keeping one from seeing everything completely. Only two of the images include red paint, excluding the images on the far right that are cut off. The grid of the images creates six or seven implied lines. There is also an implied line from the bottom of the left side of the statue to the tip of the torch. There is a line created along the horizon of the dark ocean and the bland sky. There are contrasted lines within the ocean to show waves or motion