Merce Cunningham, a pioneering American dancer and choreographer, led the evolution of modern dance in the United States for more than five decades. Andy Warhol’s screenprint Merce Cunningham FS. II 124 was created as part of the Cunningham I portfolio, a collection featuring works by seven artists aimed at raising funds for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in New York. Warhol captures the dancer’s lightness and grace, creating a powerful sense of stillness that paradoxically suggests movement. In the print, Cunningham is shown balancing at an angle, supporting a chair against his back. Over his figure, Warhol overlays a retro floral pattern that fully obscures Cunningham’s facial features, shifting the viewer’s focus to the energy and form of his body.

Merce Cunningham I FS. II 124 reflects Warhol’s enduring fascination with a wide range of artistic disciplines, including dance, fashion, film, and music. Before creating this piece, Warhol had collaborated with Cunningham and artist Jasper Johns on the 1968 stage production Rainforest, for which Warhol designed the set. Although Cunningham never posed for Warhol in person, photographs of the dancer in motion were provided as source material for the print. This work not only highlights Warhol’s appreciation for dance as an art form but also reinforces his broader interest in capturing and celebrating the dynamism of creative expression across different media.