Mrs. Damencian and Daughter 1980

This Polaroid print, “Mrs. Damencian and Daughter,” made by Andy Warhol, brings to mind questions about the nature of celebrity and the democratization of portraiture in late 20th-century America. Warhol, fascinated by fame and its trappings, turned the traditional portrait on its head. No longer was it just the wealthy and powerful who had their likeness captured, but anyone who could commission Warhol to do so. Think about the cultural shift happening then. Photography, especially instant photography, made image-making accessible, challenging the established art world. But, in the context of Warhol's wider body of work, and his obsession with consumerism and mass production, does the work celebrate or critique the superficiality of image culture? It's a question for us, as historians, to keep asking. Examining Warhol's archives, the accounts of his sitters, and the critical responses of the time can help us understand the social and institutional forces at play here.