Priya Kapoor
Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans are among the most iconic images of American modern art. Warhol created the original set of 32 canvases in 1962, depicting each variety of Campbell's Soup offered at the time. The paintings were first exhibited at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles in July 1962, marking the West Coast debut of pop art. The series gained international acclaim as a breakthrough in Pop Art and sent shockwaves through the art community, challenging notions of what art should be and altering the direction of art history.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year | Between November 1961 and June 1962 |
| Artist | Andy Warhol |
| Number of canvases | 32 |
| Canvas height | 20 inches (51 cm) |
| Canvas width | 16 inches (41 cm) |
| Number of variations | 20 |
| Height of variations | 3 feet (91 cm) |
| Width of variations | 2 feet (61 cm) |
| Number of screen prints | 250 |
| Number of portfolios | 2 |
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What You'll Learn
- Andy Warhol created 32 Campbell's Soup Can paintings in 1962
- The paintings were exhibited at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles
- Warhol's friend, Muriel Latow, suggested he paint the soup cans
- The paintings were placed on shelves, recalling stacked supermarket displays
- The paintings were hand-painted depictions of printed commercial images
Andy Warhol created 32 Campbell's Soup Can paintings in 1962
In 1962, Andy Warhol created 32 Campbell's Soup Can paintings, which became some of the most well-known images of American modern art. The series, consisting of 32 canvases, was produced between November 1961 and June 1962. Each canvas measured 20 inches (51 cm) in height and 16 inches (41 cm) in width, with each painting depicting one of the canned soup varieties offered by the brand at the time.
Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans were hand-painted depictions of printed commercial products, placing them squarely within the pop art movement. The artist's goal was to make his soup paintings look as plain and direct as possible, as if the cans had leaped straight from the supermarket shelf onto his canvas. This approach reflected Warhol's fascination with consumerism and appropriation of familiar brands. The paintings were first exhibited on July 9, 1962, at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, California, marking the West Coast debut of pop art.
The exhibition of the 32 Campbell's Soup Can paintings was curated by Irving Blum, who possessed the painting series for over 25 years. Blum initially struggled to sell the paintings, with critics and the public needing time to warm to Warhol's daring introduction of commercialism into the art world. However, the series eventually gained international acclaim as a breakthrough in Pop Art, with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York acquiring the full set in 1996 for around US$15 million.
Warhol continued to add to the series over the years, creating variations such as screen prints, drawings, sketches, and stencils. He also explored different themes, such as Martinson's coffee cans, Coca-Cola bottles, and S&H Green Stamps. However, it was his Campbell's Soup Cans that became one of his most radical and groundbreaking works, challenging the fundamental nature and status of art.
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The paintings were exhibited at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles
Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans were exhibited at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles in 1962. The exhibition, which took place between July and August 1962, marked the West Coast debut of pop art. The gallery displayed a series of 32 paintings, each depicting a different variety of Campbell's Soup, including Vegetable Made with Beef Stock and Chicken 'N Dumplings. The paintings were placed on shelves rather than hung on the walls, reflecting Warhol's fascination with consumerism and evoking the stacked displays of supermarkets.
The exhibition was curated by Irving Blum, who was the first dealer to showcase Warhol's soup can paintings. Blum owned the painting series for over 25 years, occasionally displaying them in his dining room. Despite high hopes for the show, it was not an immediate success. Blum only sold five paintings from the series and ended up buying them back to keep the set together.
The Campbell's Soup Cans exhibition closed on August 4, 1962, the day before Marilyn Monroe's death. Warhol went on to create one of his most well-known works, a painting of Marilyn, using a publicity still from the film Niagara. While the soup can paintings initially received mixed reactions, with some critics struggling to grasp the appropriation of commonplace objects, they gained international acclaim as a breakthrough in Pop Art.
The Ferus Gallery exhibition propelled Warhol's career, and he soon became a household name. By challenging the fundamental nature of art and appropriating images from popular culture, Warhol's work exploded almost every notion of what art should be and what an artist should do. His use of repetition and mass production, inspired by his daily consumption of Campbell's Soup, further emphasised the themes of his work.
Warhol continued to add to the Campbell's Soup series over the years, creating screen prints, drawings, sketches, and stencils. Today, the Campbell's Soup theme is not only limited to the original set of 32 canvases but also encompasses various other interpretations, including multi-coloured canvases and inverted/reversed can paintings.
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Warhol's friend, Muriel Latow, suggested he paint the soup cans
Andy Warhol created Campbell's Soup Cans, sometimes referred to as 32 Campbell's Soup Cans, between November 1961 and June 1962. The work consists of 32 canvases, each depicting a Campbell's Soup can—one of each variety the company offered at the time.
Warhol's friend and advisor, Muriel Latow, suggested he paint the soup cans. According to his biographer, Blake Gopnik, Warhol said:
> "The cartoon paintings… it’s too late, I’ve got to do something that really will have a lot of impact, that will be different enough from Lichtenstein."
Latow advised him to:
> "You’ve got to find something that’s recognisable to almost everybody, something you see every day that everybody would recognise. Something like a can of Campbell’s Soup."
Warhol ate Campbell's Soup for lunch every day for decades, and the brand's tomato flavour—and its iconic red colour—encapsulated the nostalgia and mundanity associated with the soup. Latow's suggestion was also in line with Warhol's attraction to repetition in his personal life and appearance, as he wore a daily uniform of a white wig, glasses, and a polo neck jumper.
Warhol's soup can paintings were exhibited in July 1962 at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, marking the West Coast debut of pop art.
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The paintings were placed on shelves, recalling stacked supermarket displays
Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans, created between November 1961 and June 1962, is a series of thirty-two canvases, each depicting a painting of a Campbell's Soup can. The paintings were hand-painted depictions of printed commercial products and popular culture, belonging to the pop art movement.
The paintings were initially exhibited at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles in 1962. Rather than being hung on walls, curator Irving Blum placed the paintings on shelves to ensure they were all level. However, the shelving quickly took on a different, symbolic meaning, evoking the stacked displays of supermarkets and reflecting Warhol's fascination with consumerism and appropriation.
The decision to place the paintings on shelves was a deliberate choice by Blum, who understood the significance of the artwork's presentation. The shelves became an integral part of the exhibition, transforming the paintings into a three-dimensional display that mirrored the everyday reality of supermarket shelves. This presentation reinforced the theme of consumerism and the mass production of goods, a concept that was explored by Warhol in his other works as well.
The Campbell's Soup Cans series gained international acclaim and sent shockwaves through the art community, altering the course of art history. The paintings challenged traditional notions of art and the role of the artist, marking a significant shift in the perception of commercialism and popular culture within the art world.
The exhibition at the Ferus Gallery marked the beginning of Warhol's exploration of consumerism and appropriation, themes that would become central to his artistic practice. By placing the paintings on shelves, Blum not only solved a practical issue but also inadvertently created an installation that captured the essence of Warhol's artistic vision and helped launch his career.
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The paintings were hand-painted depictions of printed commercial images
Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans is a series of paintings created in 1962. The paintings were hand-painted depictions of printed commercial images, specifically the Campbell's Soup canned soup advertising graphics. Each painting in the series depicts a
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Frequently asked questions
Andy Warhol painted Campbell's Soup Cans between November 1961 and June 1962.
There are 32 paintings in the Campbell's Soup Cans collection.
The Campbell's Soup Cans collection was first exhibited at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, California, in July 1962.
Each canvas measured 20 inches (51 cm) in height and 16 inches (41 cm) in width.
Warhol was inspired to paint the Campbell's Soup Cans collection by his friend and advisor Muriel (or Leila) Latow, who suggested that he paint something "recognisable to almost everybody".
