Portraits were at the heart of Andy Warhol’s art from the early 1960s onwards. His depictions of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Jackie Kennedy and Mick Jagger examined the power of repetition and the creation of icons. In later years, Warhol increasingly turned to figures from his own social circle. ‘Patty Raynes and Son’ from 1985 is a striking example: instead of pop stars, he portrayed individuals whose prominence was more discreet, focusing on presence and personality rather than fame.

Patty Raynes came from a distinguished American industrial family. Her portrait combines the dignity of a modern status symbol with the intimacy of a personal image. Warhol is less interested in celebrity here than in the interplay between appearance and identity, i.e. how social inclusion becomes visible through image. The composition deliberately echoes the traditional motif of the Madonna and Child, translated into contemporary form. Through screen printing, Warhol transforms religious iconography into a modern symbol: sacred in its stillness, yet cool and detached in execution.

Clear contours, simplified shapes and the almost square format lend the painting a solemn balance. A luminous yellow dominates the surface, offset by blue accents in the eyes and clothing. The colour fields radiate warmth and closeness without sentimentality.

In this double portrait, created towards the end of his career, Warhol searches for the human presence beneath the surface. Mother and child appear both as individuals and as contemporary icons in which the private and the symbolic merge.

His ‘Grevy’s Zebra’ of 1983 is from the series ‘Endangered Species’, in which he turns threatened animals into Pop Art icons. With vivid colour and crisp contours, Warhol renders the zebra glamorous, almost in a human manner. At the same time, the work addresses the tension between beauty and transience. The work unites ecological awareness with the artist’s unmistakable language of repetition, brilliance and media elevation – transforming the animal into both a symbol of nature and a mirror of image-driven culture.