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ANNIE OAKLEY 378
This multi-colored print features Annie Oakley, an American sharpshooter of the “wild west.” Her exceptional talent led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show (1885) and allowed her to become an American female superstar. She won numerous medals for her marksmanship, performed for royalty, and remains a legendary figure of the American West. Warhol’s application of his trademark bold and vibrant colors allows us to see this past American hero as a modern pop culture icon.
ANNIE OAKLEY 378 AS PART OF ANDY WARHOL’S LARGER BODY OF WORK
Annie Oakley (378) is part of Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians portfolio in which he interspersed recognizable portraits of well-known American heroes– John Wayne, Teddy Roosevelt, and General George Custer–with less familiar Native American images and motifs in his ironic commentary on America’s collective mythologizing of the historic West. Rather than portraying Native Americans within their historical landscape, or Cowboys in their veritable forms, Warhol chose to portray a popular, romanticized version of the American West. The West that he chose to represent is familiar to everyone and can be seen in novels, films, and television series. Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians suite is an ahistorical representation that mirrors a popular interpretation of the American West. Annie Oakley is a fine example of Warhol’s aesthetic intent in its reduction of an entire heritage and way of life into a single “trademark” image.
