Aretha Franklin 

This screenprint of Aretha Franklin was made by Andy Warhol, an American artist known for his work in the Pop Art movement. Warhol’s portraits often depict celebrities, and he employed bold colors and mass production techniques that reflect the increasing role of media and consumerism in society. In postwar America, artistic institutions like museums and galleries saw major growth. Warhol's art both benefitted from and critiqued these developments. His celebrity portraits challenged traditional notions of artistic subject matter, while his embrace of commercial techniques questioned the idea of the artist as a unique genius. To understand a piece like this fully, we research the historical context of its creation, looking at the artist's life, the cultural trends of the time, and the institutional forces that shaped artistic production and reception. In doing so, we can come to see art not as existing in a vacuum, but as a product of specific social and historical conditions.