Andy Warhol was one of the most influential artists of the late twentieth century. Indeed, Mapplethorpe had idolised him while he was studying at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in the late 1960s. However, by 1973 when they showed together at the Gotham Book Mart in New York, they were distrustful of each other. After completing portraits of each other in 1983, Mapplethorpe photographed Warhol again in 1986. Warhol’s head appears severed from his body, floating within a black void. His trademark luminous wig and pale face contrast brilliantly against the background, creating a ghostly appearance. As with the 1983 portraits, Warhol bears his customary blank expression.