Learn about the Shot Marilyns

The Shot Marilyns is a work of art produced by Andy Warhol. It consists of four canvases, each a square measuring 40 inches and each consisting of a painting of Marilyn Monroe, each shot through in the forehead by a single bullet.

Warhol actually painted five colored Marilyns in 1964 with different colored backgrounds: red, orange, light blue, sage blue, and turquoise. He stored them at The Factory, his studio on East 47th Street in Manhattan. Dorothy Podber (1932–2008), a friend of Factory photographer Billy Name, saw the recently completed paintings stacked against one another at the studio and asked Warhol if she could shoot them. Believing that she meant she wanted to photograph the paintings, Warhol agreed. Podber doffed her pair of black gloves, withdrew a small revolver from her purse, and fired a shot into the stack of four “Marilyn” paintings, which became known as The Shot Marilyns. The fifth painting with the turquoise background was not in the stack.

About the artist Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol born Andrew Warhola; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American artist, director and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, advertising, and celebrity culture that flourished by the 1960’s, and span a variety of media, including painting, silk screening, photography, film, and sculpture.

About the Shooter Dorothy Podber

1964, Dorothy Podber did the thing for which she will largely be remembered. Dressed in black leather, white gloves and accompanied by a Great Dane called Carmen Miranda or, perhaps, Yvonne de Carlo as with much of Podber’s life, the story varies, she walked into Andy Warhol’s Factory on East 47th Street in New York and asked to shoot some paintings.Assuming she meant with a camera, Warhol agreed to her request, and the self-styled feminist and “witch” peeled off her gloves, drew a small German pistol from her handbag and put a bullet through a stack of silk-screens of Marilyn Monroe.

About Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962 was an American actress, model, and singer. Famous for playing comic “blonde bombshell” characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950’s and early 1960’s and was emblematic of the era’s changing attitudes towards sexuality.