Mao: One Print

Warhol embraced capitalist and mass consumer-culture, systems harshly opposed by the Chinese Communist Party and their Chairman, Mao Zedong (1893-1976). The Chairman's propaganda slogans and images, likewise, were mass-produced and disseminated throughout China. It was this parallel between political propaganda and capitalist advertising which grabbed Warhol's attention. Mao became the subject of five series of paintings (199 in total), drawings, a screenprint on wallpaper and the set of ten screenprints, of which the present lot is one example from the set, alongside the Marilyn, Campbell's Soup and Electric Chairs sets.

Often, the artist was able to subtly and playfully express his dissent: he opted for a vibrant colour palette, transforming the communist leader into a Western glamourized and kitsch popstar, with eyeshadow, lipstick or blush. The overlaying lines and doodles on this print can be interpreted as the artist's assertion of artistic freedom and personal expression, which was repressed during Mao's dictatorship.