Ladies and Gentlemen

The 'Ladies and Gentlemen' series was the result of a commission by Italian art dealer Luciano Anselmino to produce 'impersonal and anonymous' portraits of Trans women and drag queens in New York City. Warhol took over five hundred Polaroids of fourteen models. Their identities remained unknown until 2014, when thirteen of the sitters were identified as well-known figures from New York's gay and Trans scene, including AIDS activist Marsha P. Johnson. Warhol enlarged a selection of the Polaroids onto silkscreens. Bold swashes of colour are brushed onto the sitters, whose poses explore gender ambiguity. The result deviates from the original proposal, celebrating the personality and glamour of the models.