Andy Warhol created over 50 paintings of Marilyn Monroe between August 1962 and 1964, inspired by the media frenzy following her death at age 36. Using a promotional headshot by Gene Kornman for 20th Century Fox, Warhol produced iconic works such as *Gold Marilyn* (1962), *Marilyn Monroe’s Lips* (1962), and *Marilyn Diptych* (1962). The series coincided with Warhol’s experimentation with silk-screening, a technique that allowed him to mass-produce images with slight variations, echoing his earlier repetition of Campbell’s Soup cans. Monroe’s death occurred on the closing day of Warhol’s first solo exhibition at Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, marking a turning point in his career.
This article matters because it traces the origin of one of Warhol’s most famous series, linking his artistic breakthrough to a cultural moment of celebrity tragedy. The Marilyn paintings exemplify Warhol’s critique of consumer culture and the fleeting nature of fame, where adoration becomes a form of consumption. The series also established Warhol’s signature silk-screen method, which he later applied to other Hollywood figures like Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Kennedy. Understanding this context deepens appreciation of how Warhol transformed mass-media imagery into enduring art.