description Campbell's Soup Cans Overview
Campbell's Soup Cans is a 1962 work by Andy Warhol consisting of 32 separate canvases, each depicting the label of a Campbell's condensed soup variety then available. First exhibited in Los Angeles as individual paintings arranged like products on shelves, the group is now held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Its repetition and commercial imagery challenge distinctions between fine art, advertising, mechanical reproduction, and everyday consumer goods.
help Campbell's Soup Cans FAQ
Why are there exactly 32 Campbell's soup canvases?
Each canvas represents one of the 32 soup varieties Campbell's sold when Warhol made the series in 1962. The flavor names change, but the repeated red-and-white package remains almost identical.
Were Campbell's Soup Cans screen-printed or painted by hand?
Warhol hand-painted these canvases in acrylic and metallic enamel, using a stamp for the repeated gold fleur-de-lis pattern. He adopted photographic silkscreen processes for other works later in 1962.
How were the Soup Cans displayed at their first exhibition?
At Los Angeles's Ferus Gallery, the 32 canvases were arranged in a single row on narrow shelves like products in a grocery aisle. Dealer Irving Blum presented the exhibition in 1962.
Where can the complete Campbell's Soup Cans series be seen?
The complete set belongs to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Each canvas measures 20 by 16 inches, allowing MoMA to install the group as either a long row or a grid.
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