Green Marilyn

December 1961

The decision to paint money

After seeing Claes Oldenburg's installation The Store in December 1961, Warhol went home frustrated, feeling his comic-strip paintings were no longer original enough. He accepted Muriel Flatow's tongue-in-cheek advice, given for $50, to paint what he liked most — money — and began painting dollar bills.

1961–1962

Mastering silkscreen

Seeking technical advice, Warhol turned to Floriano Vecchi of Tiber Press, who showed him the basics of silkscreen printing: transferring designs to acetate, preparing screens and pulling ink with a squeegee. The experiments became a turning point and soon led to some of his earliest silkscreen works.

1961–1962

Paints “Campbell's Soup Cans”

Warhol first painted the Campbell's Soup Cans cycle in paint and from 1962 made it in silkscreen: Thirty-Two Campbell's Soup Cans, One Hundred Campbell's Soup Cans and Two Hundred Campbell's Soup Cans (all 1962).

1962

Creates “Marilyn Diptych”

After Marilyn Monroe's death Warhol made the Marilyn Diptych, which became an allegory of the actress's life and death.

9 July 1962

Soup cans at the Ferus Gallery

The Los Angeles dealer Irving Blum, surprised that Warhol had no gallery, offered him a solo show at the Ferus Gallery. Warhol sent 32 canvases, one for each variety of Campbell's soup; the exhibition opened on 9 July 1962 and marked his West Coast debut.

1964

The Factory on 47th Street

By 1964 Warhol had moved his studio to 231 East 47th Street, which became known as the Factory; Billy Name covered it in aluminium foil and silver paint. The poet Gerard Malanga helped him with silkscreens and films, and working with assistants became a lasting feature of his method.