Andy Warhol’s 1962 “Campbell’s Soup Cans” series consists of 32 canvases.
Warhol painted one canvas for each Campbell’s soup variety sold at the time. Each work uses the same red-and-white can design and measures 20 by 16 inches. Together, the paintings turn supermarket packaging into a landmark of American Pop Art.
The complete group was first shown in July 1962 at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles. Instead of hanging the paintings like traditional fine art, dealer Irving Blum displayed them in a single row on narrow ledges, resembling products on a grocery shelf. The presentation challenged assumptions about originality, taste and the boundary between commercial design and art.
A common mix-up is confusing the original 32 paintings with Warhol’s later soup-can works. He produced many additional paintings, drawings and screen-print portfolios, including Campbell’s Soup I and Campbell’s Soup Cans II. The original 32 canvases were eventually acquired together by the Museum of Modern Art in New York.