The Kiss (Bela Lugosi)

The Kiss (Bela Lugosi) was an early experiment with the silkscreen process that would transform Andy Warhol’s art; it was also one of only three prints the artist silk-screened onto paper rather than linen. Although the mechanized process lent itself to the quick and easy reproduction of a single image, each version is slightly different because the artist hand-rolled ink across the screen. This work reproduces a still from the 1931 Dracula movie in which Bela Lugosi, as Count Dracula, is about to bite the neck of Mina (played by Helen Chandler). Warhol continued exploring this subject matter later in 1963 with the film Kiss, which consists of various couples acting out the titular embrace. More works by the artist are on view in Gallery 296C.