Warhol made four different versions of this image; this version, with a blue background, is the most desirable of Warhol’s 'Birth of Venus' prints. Rather than depicting a larger portion of the original composition, Warhol focuses instead on Venus’s head, underscoring the sensual nature of the subject by portraying her hair flowing in the wind. Although Warhol moved on to other historical sources in his subsequent series, including works by Leonardo da Vinci and Paolo Uccello, 'Birth of Venus' remains the favorite of the group.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) is widely credited as one of the most significant artists of the 20th century. After studying design at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Warhol moved to New York in 1949 to pursue a career as a commercial artist. Though successful, Warhol wanted to be an independent painter. In the early 1960s he began to create paintings based on advertising imagery. He established his own studio, The Factory, and developed his signature style, employing commercial silkscreening techniques to create identical, mass-produced images on canvas. With his multiple images of soup cans, soda bottles, dollar bills and celebrities, Warhol revealed the beauty within mass culture and redefined the art world.

Selected Public Collections:
Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY)
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY)
Guggenheim Museum (New York, NY)
Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY)
Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA)
J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles, CA)
Tate Gallery (London, UK)