Andy Warhol’s Satyric Festival Song (1986) comes from his Martha Graham portfolio, one of the last print projects he completed before his death in February 1987. The suite honors Graham (1894–1991), widely considered the central figure in American modern dance. It belongs to a late period when Warhol was revisiting American icons in series such as Ads, Myths and Cowboys and Indians, and Graham fit naturally among them.

Warhol based the image on Barbara Morgan’s photograph of Graham performing her 1932 solo of the same name, an early piece that broke from classical form. He prints her twice, side by side against a black ground: head thrown back, hair flying upward, one arm raised high and the other hand at her hip, her dress banded in stripes. One figure is turquoise, the other violet and blue, and quick hand-drawn lines in pink, red and yellow trace her silhouette so the movement stays alive.

Graham’s stature as a twentieth-century American icon makes her a fitting subject for the artist who defined celebrity portraiture. Because Warhol died within months of finishing the suite, it carries real biographical weight. This impression, number 78 from the edition of 100, is printed on Lenox Museum Board at 36 inches square.