Art & culture
Andy Warhol and the photobooth
How repeated portraits became material for an artist.
A machine sets the frame; the sitter supplies the variations. That tension is especially visible in Warhol’s photobooth work, where a tiny sequence can be both self-portrait and performance.
An object you can trace
The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds Photobooth Self-Portrait, dated approximately 1963, as two gelatin-silver strips. The date is approximate. Keep the word ‘approximately’ when citing the object, rather than silently replacing it with a precise day.
Evidence: Collection record
From strips to paintings
The Andy Warhol Museum describes hundreds of portraits and self-portraits made between 1963 and 1966, some used for silkscreen paintings. The Met also records Ethel Scull 36 Times as a 1963 acrylic-and-silkscreen work. A source photograph and a painting derived from photographs are different objects.
Evidence: Museum account · Collection record
Look at the changes
Compare posture, gaze, glasses, mouth and how the head approaches the frame. Repetition does not mean identicalness: the machine repeats its arrangement while the person changes. Try the exercise with your own four frames, without copying an artist’s portrait. Museum images are not automatically reusable just because their catalogue can be read online.
Sources & further reading
Sources for the specific facts and product descriptions above. Our worked examples, interpretations and practical suggestions are original editorial guidance.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Photobooth Self-Portrait, ca. 1963Collection record
- The Andy Warhol Museum — The New Warhol Photobooth!Museum account
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Ethel Scull 36 Times, 1963Collection record