July. This is the ninth.
In 1962, on this date, that whacky artist Andy Warhol displayed his famous Campbell’s Soup Can paintings for the first time.
Some say this was one of the most important moments in modern art’s history.
You see, Andy Warhol started out as a successful commercial illustrator who worked in advertising. But then he started moving into his painting. His art. And once he did, he became one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century.
He saw the world in a different way. Warhol was fascinated by everyday American life, especially consumer products, celebrities, advertising, and mass production.
So what the heck ever made him want to paint Campbell’s soup cans?
The work consisted of 32 separate canvases, each depicting a different variety of Campbell’s soup sold at the time.
Beef
Black Bean
Beef Noodle
Chicken Noodle
Chicken with Rice
Chicken Gumbo
Chicken ‘n Dumplings
Cream of Chicken
Cream of Mushroom
Cream of Tomato
Clam Chowder (Manhattan Style)
Clam Chowder (New England Style)
Vegetable
Vegetable Beef
Vegetable Made with Beef Stock
Vegetarian Vegetable
Green Pea
Split Pea with Ham
Bean with Bacon
Scotch Broth
Consommé (Beef)
Pepper Pot
Onion
Minestrone
Tomato
Hot Dog Bean
Beef Barley
Cheddar Cheese
Old-Fashioned Tomato Rice
Mock Turtle
Bean with Vegetable and Bacon
French Onion
Clam Chowder
Wait. Hot Dog Bean? What? Campbell’s had it going on back then.
Each painting was about the same size. They were also displayed side-by-side, almost like products sitting on a grocery store shelf. And, those iconic paintings were first exhibited on July 9, 1962.
The exhibition took place at the famous Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, California. It is so famous that I have never heard of it. But I’ve never been to LA.
Apparently, the gallery was a hotspot for cutting-edge artists. It also helped introduce new artistic movements to the public.
So I had to find out why funky Andy chose to paint these cans. He could have done cans of hairspray or cans of motor oil. But it was the red-and-white soup cans. Warhol later explained that he had eaten Campbell’s soup regularly for years.
And mostly, Warhol wanted to challenge the traditional idea that art had to depict grand subjects such as kings and queens, landscapes, or religious scenes.
He wondered that ordinary commercial products could be the true symbols of modern America. And with that, a Campbell’s soup can was instantly recognizable to millions of Americans. Rich people bought it. Poor people bought it. It was everywhere.
And. Finally, this part is crazy. The gallery originally sold individual canvases for about $100 each. Fortunately, the gallery owner convinced buyers to return them so the entire set could remain together.
These days, the complete collection is housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and is considered one of the most influential artworks of the twentieth century. I saw it. A few years back.
Right after, we stopped and got lunch. Soup.
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“The most interesting thing in the world is something you see every day.” — Andy Warhol
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“There are no ordinary things.” — C. S. Lewis
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“Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought.” — Albert Szent-Györgyi
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“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” — Aristotle
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