
Andy Warhol 1928-1987
The Star (F&S II.258) is one of ten works from Andy Warhol’s 1981 Myths portfolio, a series that examines icons of American popular culture through the lens of fame, nostalgia, and image repetition. This portrait is based on a promotional photograph of the silent film actress Greta Garbo, whose enigmatic persona had become legend by the time Warhol created the print.
Garbo’s career—and her deliberate withdrawal from public life—made her an ideal subject for Warhol’s investigation of celebrity mythology. In The Star, Warhol presents Garbo not as an individual but as a stylised emblem, flattened and reprocessed through his silkscreen technique. Her image, once a tool of 1930s studio marketing, becomes here a symbol of enduring cultural memory and constructed persona.
This edition is printed with diamond dust, a material Warhol introduced in the early 1980s to reinforce themes of surface and spectacle. Signed and numbered in pencil on the verso, The Star is a key work within the Myths series and remains highly sought-after by collectors for its blend of Hollywood iconography and late Warhol glamour.
Offered by Coskun Fine Art in excellent condition, with full authentication and provenance available on request.
Literature
Catalogue Raisonne: Feldman & Schellmann II.258