Gem Diamond, 1978 Raisonne 189 30 x 40 Screenprint on paper Edition 20.
Warhol became a collector of jewelry after his success. He often wore pieces by Cartier or Harry Winston when he attended parties. The Gems prints, featuring emeralds, rubies and diamonds, were a series Warhol created late in his life. Recently a German curator put one under an ultraviolet light. The light showed a fluorescence, a glow. This discovery was a pleasant surprise to those who know that Andy, himself, was always hiding his own glow, the jewelry, underneath his clothes. “The Gems series has an autobiographical dimension (the secret love of feminine things, the sadness inherent in having to hide who he really was, despite his wealth and celebrity).
