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Introduction

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Brooklyn Bridge was commissioned in 1983 by the Brooklyn Bridge Centennial Commission to commemorate the landmark’s 100th anniversary. The work celebrates the bridge as a symbol of New York City’s resilience and ambition.

Warhol used an offset printing technique that is aesthetically different from many of his other works. The composition features two overlapping, mirrored images of the bridge, which creates a complex, almost surrealistic, 3D effect on a 2D medium. This juxtaposition makes the bridge appear to jet off into the distance, blurring the lines between reality and representation. Warhol’s characteristic use of bold, vibrant, and contrasting colors (such as yellow, navy, pink, and cyan on a red background in one variation) transforms a familiar architectural landmark into a distinctly Pop Art image. The image is based on a photograph from the permanent collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

The print was released in 1983 as the official artwork for the city-wide event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge’s completion. The choice of an architectural landmark was a departure from his usual subjects of consumer goods and celebrities, but it still fits within his fascination with iconic American imagery. The bridge represents the “never-say-die attitude” of the countless immigrants and dream-chasers, including Warhol himself, who came to New York. Warhol, who lived in New York from 1949 until his death, remained captivated by the city’s culture. The bold and strong depiction reflects his admiration for the city and its people. By applying his signature style to a mundane, often-photographed subject, Warhol elevates the bridge into the realm of high art, consistent with the Pop Art movement’s goal of blurring the boundaries between high and low culture.

In the 1980’s, Andy Warhol went beyond contemporary pop culture and turned toward imagery rooted in the past, finding inspiration in a wide variety of subject matter, from old master paintings to famous longstanding structures like the Cologne Cathedral and the Brooklyn Bridge. King of the New York art scene, Warhol was an obvious choice for the city to approach to make a series of prints in honor of the 100^th anniversary of the city’s beloved Brooklyn Bridge in 1983. Warhol found his source imagery for the edition in the archives of Museum of the City of New York, choosing a photo that highlighted the rich history of the city and brought another New York institution into the conversation of such a monumental event.

 

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Brooklyn Bridge, 1983

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Brooklyn Bridge

Medium: Screen-print in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Year: 1983
Sheet: 39 1/4 x 39 1/4 inches (99.7 x 99.7 cm)
Edition: 200
Artist’s Proofs: 20 AP
Printer’s Proofs: 5 PP
Hors Commerce: 10 HC
Trial Proofs: 25 TP with unique color variant
Printer: Rupert Jasen Smith, New-York
Publisher: The 1983 Brooklyn Bridge Centennial Commission Inc., New-York
Published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge
Literature: Feldman & Schellman II.290

Signed and numbered in pencil with the printer’s blindstamp

 

 

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Regular Editions

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Bonhams New-York: 8 April 2026
Estimated: USD 25,000 – 35,000
USD 70,350
NEW AUCTION RECORD FOR BROOKLYN BRIDGE (REGULAR EDITION)

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Brooklyn Bridge (Feldman & Schellman II.290), 1983
Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil and numbered 85/200 (there were also 20 artist’s proofs)
Published by The 1983 Brooklyn Bridge Centennial Commission, Inc., New York
With the blindstamp of the printer, Rupert Jasen Smith, New York

Van Ham: 3 December 2025
Estimated: EUR 30,000 – 50,000
EUR 39,600 / USD 45,910

ANDY WARHOL (1928 Pittsburgh, PA/USA – 1987 New York)
Brooklyn Bridge (Feldman/Schellmann no. II. 290), 1983
Color silkscreen on Lenox museum card
Verso signed, numbered 157/200 and stamped
Published by The 1983 Brooklyn Bridge Centennial Commission, Inc. New York

Phillips New-York: 12 February 2025
Estimated: USD 25,000 – 35,000
USD 33,020

Showplace New-York: 9 January 2025
Estimated: USD 20,000 – 40,000
USD 32,500 (Hammer)
USD 40,625

ANDY WARHOL (American, 1928-1987)
“Brooklyn Bridge” (Feldman & Schellman, p. 92, image 290), 1983
Screenprint in colors
Signed in pencil and numbered edition “15/200” lower left
Blindstamp lower right

Ketterer Kunst: 7 December 2024
Estimated: EUR 20,000
EUR 50,800 / USD 53,725
AUCTION RECORD FOR BROOKLYN BRIDGE (REGULAR EDITION)

ANDY WARHOL
Brooklyn Bridge (Feldman/Schellmann II.290), 1983
Silkscreen in colors on Lenox museum cardboard
Signed and numbered, with the copyright stamp on the reverse
One of 5 trial proofs inscribed “PP”

Leland Little: 18 October 2024
No Estimates Provided
USD 18,500

ANDY WARHOL (American, 1928-1987)
Brooklyn Bridge (Feldman/Schellmann II. 290), 1983
Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Pencil signed and numbered 177/200 at lower left
With artist’s red inkstamp on the reverse
Published by The 1983 Brooklyn Bridge Centennial Commission, Inc., New York

Showplace New-York: 5 May 2024
Estimated: USD 20,000 – 40,000
USD 35,000 (Hammer)
USD 43,750

ANDY WARHOL (American, 1928-1987)
“Brooklyn Bridge” (Feldman & Schellman, p. 92, image 290), 1983
Screenprint in colors
Signed in pencil and numbered edition “15/200” lower left
Blindstamp lower right

Clarke Auction: 10 December 2023
Estimated: USD 20,000 – 30,000
USD 24,000 (Hammer)
USD 30,000

ANDY WARHOL (American, 1928-1987)
Brooklyn Bridge (II.290), 1983
Screenprint in colors on Lenox museum board
Signed and numbered ’59/200′ along lower left edge
Blindstamp lower right

Heritage Auctions: 24 October 2023
Estimated: USD 15,000 – 25,000
USD 37,500

ANDY WARHOL (1928–1987)
Brooklyn Bridge, 1983
Screen-print in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed and editioned 148/200 in pencil along lower left edge

LA Modern: 7 September 2023
Estimated: USD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 52,920

Ketterer Kunst: 9 December 2022
Estimated: EUR 18,000
EUR 37,500 / USD 43,500

ANDY WARHOL
Brooklyn Bridge (Feldmann/Schellmann/Defendi II. 290), 1983
Silkscreen in colors on Lenox museum board.
Signed and numbered
With the copyright stamp on the reverse
From an edition of 200 copies
Published by Brooklyn Bridge Centennial Commission, New York

Est-Ouest Auctions Tokyo: 24 September 2022
Estimated: JPY 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
JPY 5,808,000 / USD 40,515

ANDY WARHOL
Brooklyn Bridge, 1983
Screenprint
Signed, numbered 151/200

 

 

 

Phillips New-York: 22 April 2021
Estimated: USD 25,000 – 35,000
USD 144,900
TRIAL PROOF