Warhol Andy - Diamond Dust Shoes (1980-81)

Dimensions: Image: 38" x 30" / Paper: 42" x 34"

Rare Giclee Print

Andy Warhol's interest in shoes can be traced back to the early 1950’s. His blotted line drawings of shoes, especially high heeled shoes, were very much a part of his professional career as a commercial artist and as a fine artist. Warhol made illustrations of shoes for I. Miller and Glamour magazine among others and named many shoes after actors, dancers, and singers - high heels called Julie Andrews, Kate Smith, and Zsa Zsa Gabor, and spurred cowboy boots labelled Elvis Presley and James Dean. The shoes could be highly stylised or whimsical, and they were always elegant. In 1955 Warhol published A la Recherche du Shoe Perdu, a book illustrated with drawings of fanciful shoes. By 1980, Warhol was ready to revisit one of his favourite subjects. It was at this time that he created his Diamond Dust Shoes using crushed-glass particles - a glittery powder that sparkled. He was able to combine some of his favourite themes with the Diamond Dust Shoe paintings - movie star glamour, high fashion, and money. The Diamond Dust Shoe paintings were created just as the disco, lamé, and stilettos of Studio 54 had captured the imagination of the Manhattan glitterati. Warhol, who had been in the vanguard of the New York club scene since the early 60’s, once again reflected the times he was living in through his paintings.