Andy Warhol

Embracing Couple with Marbleised Background

About this artwork

In the early 1950s Warhol experimented with marbling paper. A friend commented that Warhol’s “bathtub was usually full of paper he was marbling, leading friends to believe he never used it himself”. This work is an example of Warhol combining a blotted-line drawing with a marbleised background. The swirling pattern resembles a bed-sheet, creating a veil around the embracing couple. Their eyes are closed which adds to the dreamlike quality of the image. In 1954 Warhol featured in both group and solo shows at the Loft Gallery in New York. Among the works he exhibited were many of his marbleised drawings and other folded and crumpled paper pieces displayed on the walls, ceiling and floor.

Updated before 2020

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  • artist:
    Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987) American
  • title:
    Embracing Couple with Marbleised Background
  • date created:
    1952
  • materials:
    Ink and watercolour on paper
  • measurements:
    30.00 x 35.60 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Acquired jointly through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund, 2008
  • accession number:
    AR00241
  • gallery:
This artwork is part of Artist Rooms
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Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol