Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan)
from Ads

Medium: Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Year: 1985
Sheet: 38×38 inches (96.5 x 96.5 cm)
Edition: 190
Artist’s Proofs: 30 AP
Printer’s Proofs: 5 PP
Exhibitor’s Proofs: 5 EP
Hors Commerce: 10 HC
Other: 10 numbered in Roman numerals
Bon a Tirer: 1 BAT
Trial Proofs: 30 TP, each print is unique
(see Feldman & Schellmann IIB.356)
Printer: Rupert Jasen Smith, New-York
Publisher: Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., New York
Literature: Feldman & Schellmann II.356

Each signed and numbered in pencil
With the printer’s and the publisher’s blindstamps
With the artist’s and the publisher’s copyright inkstamps on the reverse

Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan) is part of Ads
(Click on picture below to access the Catalogue Entry)

In Van Heusen, Warhol captures Ronald Reagan in his pre-presidential guise, not as a statesman, but as a handsome Hollywood actor and affable spokesperson for the Van Heusen shirt brand. Rendered with the sleek, flattened quality of commercial graphics and heightened with a dynamic, almost three-dimensional comic-book effect, Reagan’s smiling visage floats against a jarring and surreal backdrop. The result is both captivating and unsettling—an image that gleams with the promises of American consumerism while gesturing toward its dystopian undertones.

Warhol based Van Heusen on a 1950s advertisement featuring Reagan endorsing shirts with the tagline “For a man to wear… and a woman to admire.” Yet beneath the surface of slick, mid-century marketing lies a deeper reading. Warhol had long been preoccupied with political figures, having previously portrayed John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter. By selecting Reagan—a celebrity-turned-president—as a subject, Warhol hints at the growing entanglement of politics and performance, governance and branding.

Interestingly, Warhol initially declined two offers to paint Reagan’s portrait in the lead-up to the 1980 election, according to his confidant and Interview editor Bob Colacello. Despite this reluctance, Warhol eventually attended Reagan’s inauguration and developed a friendly rapport with his family. He even interviewed Nancy Reagan for Interview magazine, cementing a complex, if cautious, relationship with the First Family.

While Van Heusen appears to celebrate Reagan’s clean-cut, “white-collar” appeal—so emblematic of 1980s conservative values—it simultaneously satirizes his Hollywood past and his role as a spokesperson for corporate interests. This duality is not uncommon in Warhol’s work: his art often flirts with both adulation and critique. Another piece, Reagan Budget Deficit, reveals a more explicit skepticism toward Reagan’s economic policies, further underscoring the artist’s political engagement.

Reagan Budget (Positive), circa 1985-1986

Christie’s New-York: 13 May 2022
Estimated: USD 50,000 – 70,000
USD 75,600

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987), Reagan Budget (Positive) | Christie’s

ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987)
Reagan Budget (Positive), circa 1985-1986
Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas
20×16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm)
Stamped with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.,
The Estate of Andy Warhol and the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board Inc. stamps
Numbered ‘VF PA.10.400’ and ‘A111.103’ (on the overlap)

Through Van Heusen, Warhol constructs a portrait that is both nostalgic and subversive. Reagan is not depicted as a president or policymaker, but as a product—a polished, consumable image carefully manufactured for public appeal. In doing so, Warhol underscores a central truth of the media age: that fame and power are often indistinguishable from marketing.

Ultimately, Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan) stands as a potent emblem of Warhol’s enduring preoccupations—celebrity, politics, commerce, and the blurred boundaries between them. It is a portrait not only of a man, but of an era shaped by television screens, advertising campaigns, and the theatricality of power. Through his screenprints, Warhol invites us to look again at the images we thought we knew—and to question what lies beneath their glossy surfaces.

Auction Market Overview

Regular Editions

Phillips New-York: 21 October 2025
Estimated: USD 25,000 – 35,000
USD 61,920

ANDY WARHOL

Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan) (F. & S. 356), 1985
From Ads
Screenprint in colors, on Lenox Museum Board

Signed and numbered ‘VII/X’ in pencil
(one of 10 in Roman numerals, the edition was 190 and 30 artist’s proofs)
Published by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., New York
With their blindstamp and their and the artist’s copyright inkstamp on the reverse

Artnet Auctions: 19 March 2025
Estimated: USD 35,000 – 45,000
USD 43,750

ANDY WARHOL (American, 1928–1987)
Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan) (from Ads) (II.356, Feldman & Schellmann), 1985
Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed and numbered 37/190 in pencil

LA Modern: 4 September 2024
Estimated: USD 25,000 – 35,000
USD 40,320

ANDY WARHOL (1928–1987)
Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan) (from the Ads series), 1985
Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed and numbered to lower right ‘126/190 Andy Warhol’ with blindstamps

Christie’s New-York: 28 October 2023
Estimated: USD 25,000 – 35,000

USD 69,300

ANDY WARHOL
Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan), from Ads, 1985
Screen-print in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencilandinscribed AP 24/30
This impression is one of 30 artist’s proof aside from the numbered edition of 190

LA Modern: 29 April 2022
Estimated: USD 35,000 – 45,000
USD 68,750

Phillips New-York: 19 April 2022
Estimated: USD 20,000 – 30,000
USD 52,920

Trial Proofs

Van Heusen (TP 9/30)

Sotheby’s London: 26 September 2023
Estimated: GBP 60,000 – 80,000
GBP 107,950 / USD 131,310
TRIAL PROOF

ANDY WARHOL (1928 – 1987)
Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan), from Ads, 1985
Screen-print in a unique color combination on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil, inscribed and numbered TP 9/30
One of 30 trial proofs printed in a unique color combination aside from the edition of 190

Van Heusen (TP 23/30)

Sotheby’s London: 26 September 2023
Estimated: GBP 60,000 – 80,000
GBP 101,600 / USD 123,585
TRIAL PROOF

ANDY WARHOL (1928 – 1987)
Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan), from Ads, 1985
Screen-print in a unique color combination on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil, inscribed and numbered TP 23/30
One of 30 trial proofs printed in a unique color combination aside from the edition of 190

Van Heusen (TP 4/30)

Sotheby’s New-York: 31 October 2014
Estimated: USD 25,000 – 35,000
USD 30,000
TRIAL PROOF

ANDY WARHOL
Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan) (F. & S. IIB.356), from Ads, 1985
Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil, inscribed ‘TP 4/30’
A unique color trial proof, aside from the numbered edition of 190

Van Heusen (TP 21/30)

Christie’s London: 5 December 2000
Estimated: GBP 2,000 – 3,000
GBP 2,703
TRIAL PROOF

ANDY WARHOL
Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan): One Plate for Ads (F. & S. B356), 1985
Screenprint in colors on Lenox Museum Board
Signed in pencil, inscribed and numbered ‘TP 21/30’
One of 30 unique colour variants aside from the edition of 190