Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • Collection
  • Collection Research
  • Past Exhibitions
  • Watch / Listen / Read

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Image

Andy Warhol

Unidentified Woman (Short Dark Hair)

Description

Maker

Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987)

Title

Unidentified Woman (Short Dark Hair)

Year

1980

Medium

  • Dye diffusion print (Polacolor 2)

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Dye diffusion print (Polacolor 2)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

Object Number

2008.110.43

Type

  • Photographs

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Andy Warhol's Photographs
Jan 31, 2014 – Jun 29, 2014
Changing Poses
The Artist's Model
Nov 12, 2010 – Jun 06, 2011

Label copy

Andy Warhol began working with a Polaroid Big-Shot camera around 1970, and it soon became a central tool within the creation of his large portrait paintings and screen prints. Lacking the ability to zoom or adjust the focus, this camera required the photographer to shoot from a distance of roughly three feet from the subject, imposing a standard size and format on the resulting images. The glare of its flash further homogenized sitters by washing out their features, and Warhol heightened this effect by requiring that all strip, wrap themselves in a sheet, and wear heavy white make-up on their faces and shoulders. With bright red lipstick on, the sitter would then turn and strike a variety of poses in Warhol’s direction. Working quickly to make dozens of Polaroid images, Warhol adapted each sitter to a uniform

conception of glamour, overturning the expected individuality of portraiture in favor of a commercialized product inspired by fashion and runway modeling. He created so many of these images that the identities of the sitters have often been lost.

Use & Feedback

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987)
Unidentified Woman (Short Dark Hair), 1980
Dye diffusion print (Polacolor 2)
Gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. 2008.110.43

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

RISD Museum

  •  Facebook
  •  Twitter
  •  Instagram
  •  Vimeo
  •  Pinterest
  •  SoundCloud

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Secondary

  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use