Art Pick of the Week: Andy Warhol Chanel No5

Chanel No. 5 made it's debut in 1921. Created by Ernest Beaux specifically for Coco, this perfume represents sophistication and luxury to this day. Andy Warhol, drawn to those same two qualities, created this series of ads in 1985. The original illustration of the No. 5 bottle was actually created in 1952 for an article in Vogue magazine. To me this just shows that some things never go out of style. While the ad series was created in 1985, Chanel chose not to use them because of the political and social criticism Warhol endured during his life. As unconventional as he may have been, his use of color in this ad series brings new life to the original rectangular bottle designed in 1921. 10 years after his death in 1997 Chanel decided to revisit the series and ran a limited ad campaign in Paris. Today, these 4 prints remain some of the most popular and most sought after posters. With the originals becoming more and scarce, these prints allow the legacy of their creators to live on well passed their lives.