Not just wallpaper: Andy Warhol's Cow series by Paul Stephenson

Now one of Warhol’s most collected graphics, the cow was originally chosen by his assistant, Gerard Malanga, upon the advice of the American Pop Art dealer Ivan Karp. The pair experimented with vibrant and unexpected neon colourways between 1966 and 1976, with the cows created as wallpapers for Warhol’s exhibitions.

For his 1966 show at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York, a single room was adorned from floor to ceiling with the fluorescent pink and yellow colourway. Transcending decorative and artistic genres, these wallpapers – which Karp described as “blazingly bright and vulgar” – were displayed in institutes such as the Whitney Museum in New York and the Modern Art Pavilion in Seattle.

Here, visitors were surrounded by the striking simplicity of the repeated imagery, which signified Warhol’s unique take on commercialisation and mass production. Single cows were sometimes spliced from the wallpaper and signed by Warhol, who actively encouraged other artists to copy (or even create!) his work. 

The humorous colour scheme lends the artworks a feeling of excitement, which inspired Paul to create this collection during COVID-19, which has been a time of anxiety and uncertainty. Intended to bring viewers hope and laughter, the artworks each relate to a specific Warhol exhibition, giving them a place in the narrative of art history.

Paul adds: “There’s always an element of mischief with Warhol, and the mischief in this image, and what’s revolutionary, is that Warhol is using a recognisably industrial process – wallpaper-making – to make art."