Electric Chair

Andy Warhol
Electric Chair, 1965
© The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

Among the bleakest of the "Death and Disaster" images, Warhol's Electric Chairs appeared at the very moment when Americans were hotly debating the morality of the death penalty. Political resistance was particularly strong in New York State, where in August 1963 Sing Sing's electric chair was at last retired.

The artist based his painting on a photo of an empty electric chair in a deserted prison chamber. The sign on the wall demands a grim and respectful "silence" in a space dimmed by the dark promise of death. Warhol's chilling update on the age-old theme of memento mori (the spiritual mindfulness of death) constitutes one of the most powerful images in 20th-century American art.

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All paintings, prints, sculptures, and photographs by Andy Warhol ©1998 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, including downloading, and/or retransmission of Warhol's artwork(s) is prohibited under international copyright law. Users desiring to reproduce or retransmit the images must secure the appropriate authorizations.