Alex Ross, “Andy Warhol,” 2011. Gouache on paper. © Andy Warhol Museum Collections.
Curated by the Andy Warhol Museum, Heroes & Villains: The Comic Book Art of Alex Ross looks at the art and creative process of today’s foremost comic book creator. When asked by the Warhol Museum to create a portrait of the Pop Art icon for the exhibition’s 2011 debut in Pittsburgh, Alex Ross found inspiration from another influential 20th-century artist: Norman Rockwell.
“I was doing Warhol in a pose that was pretty much ripping off a painting that Rockwell did of Uncle Sam flying with a pair of wings strapped to his back,” explained Ross during an exclusive interview with Norman Rockwell Museum this month. “It was giving the idea of Warhol taking flight, almost equating him to the sort of freedom and elation you get through the life of Superman. It was a very soft kind of connection to my world of superheroes and that kind of graphic iconography… there are some other overlaps with Warhol that way.”
“Uncle Sam Flying,” 1928, Norman Rockwell (1894-1978). Cover illustration for “The Saturday Evening Post,” January 21, 1928. Norman Rockwell Museum Digital Collections. ©SEPS: Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN.
Like Warhol and Rockwell, Alex Ross has also created his own original interpretation of Uncle Sam (a 2009 mini-series created for DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint). View original art from Ross, Warhol, and Rockwell as Heroes & Villains opens at Norman Rockwell Museum on November 10, and look out for Alex Ross’ new portrait of his artistic hero Norman Rockwell, to debut during the exhibition (on view in Stockbridge through February 24, 2013).
Learn more about the exhibition: www.nrm.org/alexross
Visit our online store for exhibition-related work, including Alex Ross’ portrait of Norman Rockwell.