Queen Ntombi from Reigning Queens

Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987)

Queen Ntombi from Reigning Queens

1985

Screen print with diamond dust

2013.50.4

Andy Warhol, prodigy of American Pop Art, was born Andrew Warhola in 1928. As a child, he suffered from a rare neurological disorder typified by uncontrollable movements, requiring him to miss school frequently. He escaped boredom during these times through comic books and magazines, immersing himself in the worlds of both heroes and Hollywood glamour. From these publications, he made paper cutouts of advertisements and photographs. This childhood hobby likely inspired his distinctive silkscreen technique—the repetitive recreation of emblematic figures and familiar products for a consumer-driven and celebrity-obsessed audience.

The themes of repetition, celebrity, and glamour became synonymous with Warhol, not only in his screen prints, but also in his documentation of life. The photograph at the right, Table, encapsulates these themes in a single frame. The composition revolves around the repeated table settings, the reflection of the camera’s flash, and the empty chairs holding the promise of prominent and glamorous event attendees.

The screen print of Queen Ntombi Twala of Swaziland comes from Warhol’s Reigning Queens series, which also included portraits of Queen Elizabeth II of England, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and Queen Magrethe II of Denmark. Warhol based the images on existing photographs of the queens, but used abstract shapes and large blocks of color to achieve a collaged effect in a screen print medium. He enhanced the effect by adding diamond dust, tiny bits of cut glass designed to catch and reflect light, to the surface layer of ink. This sparkle also lends a sense of opulence to the queens, each of whom ruled in her own right rather than through a male relative.

Extra, out of the edition. Designated for research and educational purposes only. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

© The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. Photo by Bruce M. White, 2018.