ANDY WARHOL
Colored Mona Lisa
Publisher: Christie’s Inc., May 2015
Candace Wetmore, Editor
Tim Balboni, Design
Stephen Jones, Candace Wetmore, Text
Archival Interview with Andy Warhol and Glenn O’Brein
The Painting.
Andy Warhol’s Colored Mona Lisa sold for $56,165,000 in May 2015 at Christie’s in New York, placing it among the top ten prices achieved for the artist at auction.
The Book.
A Contemporary look into one of the Renaissance’s most renowned paintings this special book was published to coincide with the sale of Andy Warhol’s Colored Mona Lisa. Designed with various elements alluding not only to Warhol’s own silk-screening technique but also the standard CMYK printing process, this publication is complete with a Mylar deconstruction of Colored Mona Lisa — dissecting exactly how Warhol laid down and layered up this enigmatic composition. The original content delves into the modern history of the Mona Lisa — from the 1911 heist, to her journey to America, and all that made her a Pop icon in the eyes of Warhol. It also examines the appropriation of classical and modern art through the lens of the biggest names in Pop. The archival content includes an interview between the artist and Glenn O’Brien as well as a reproduction of the original exhibition brochure that accompanied the Mona Lisa’s voyage to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a trip which would inspire Warhol’s version.





“If anyone had told Leonardo that 500 years after his death, his portrait would be the most famous painting in the word, he’d have thought the notion mad.”
— Robert Hughes