In 1962, Andy Warhol began his money paintings - his first foray into
screenprinting - in which he focused on the symbolic significance of
the American dollar, producing small single studies of one and two
dollar bills as well as monumental gridded compositions of currency.
Warhol recollected how he came upon this series: "It was one of those
evenings when I'd asked around ten or fifteen people for suggestions
that finally one lady friend of mine asked me the right question: 'Well,
what do you love most?' That's how I started painting money." One Dollar Bill (Back),
1962, is an early and iconic example from this celebrated series,
exemplifying the artist's lifelong fascination with consumer culture,
the 'American Dream', power, wealth, glamour, serial repetition and mass
production.