Hammer and Sickle

Artist Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987)

Date1977

MediumAcrylic and screen print on canvas

Dimensions72 x 86 in. (182.9 x 218.4 cm)

ClassificationsPainting

Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2012.495

Signedon the overlap: [signed] 1977

Accession number 2012.495

On View

Not on view

Collections

ProvenanceWilliam Copley, New York, NY; (Sotheby’s, New York, NY), May 3, 1989, lot 317; Reinhard Onnasch, Berlin, Germany; to Private Collection; to (Christie’s, New York, NY), May 14, 2003, sale 1232, lot 26; Private Collection, 2003; to (Sotheby’s, New York, NY, November 13, 2012), sale N08900, lot 35; purchased by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2012
Label TextAndy Warhol painted Hammer and Sickle after a 1975 visit to Italy, where the communist symbol appeared in graffiti throughout Milan and Rome. He realized the symbol had become a Pop image on its own. Even though he denied any political ties to his work, he was aware of the power of the communist emblem he painted during the Cold War. The symbol’s long, menacing shadows, rough outlines, and large size make this painting appear to be an ironic commentary on communism. Warhol later produced different silkscreen variations of the hammer and sickle, demoting the symbol to an everyday consumable object.