Andy Warhol: Ladies and Gentlemen

In 1975, Andy Warhol undertook a series of portraits of New York City transvestites, most of whom were recruited by Bob Colacello from a club called The Gilded Grape. The method for making these portraits followed Warhol’s customary formula: a Polaroid portrait of the sitter was silkscreened onto a canvas, which was then embellished with synthetic polymer paint in a bright array of red, pinks, yellows and pastels. Warhol’s transvestites are portrayed in a fairly classical fashion, neck-up, often at a three-quarter angle, and beckon at the viewer with a variety of expressions, from the plaintive to the coquettish to the triumphant. This beautifully produced monograph features 40 spot-varnished color reproductions of the Ladies and Gentlemen series, and reprints the Italian film-maker and poet Pier Paolo Pasolini’s fascinating and unusual take on Warhol and on the series.