Take a look at this exhibition poster advertising Andy Warhol's 1971 exhibition at the Tate. The poster displays Warhol's iconic Shot Blue Sage Marilyn (1964). Do you know why Warhol named his piece the Shot Blue Sage Marilyn?
The title refers to a shocking incident in which Dorothy Podber, an East Village performance artist and friend of photographer Billy Name, entered Warhol's Factory studio and asked Warhol if she could 'shoot' the paintings.
Believing Podber intended to photograph the works, Warhol obliged. Podber then pulled out a small revolver and shot a single bullet through a stack of four recently finished portraits of Marilyn with the blue sage background.
After the event, Warhol included the word 'Shot' in his titling of the surviving works in reference to Podber's shooting - in a way, acknowledging Podber as a collaborator to the work.
Visit our new Andy Warhol exhibition at our Maddox Street Gallery where you'll find this piece of art history on display and for sale.
