Hammer and Sickle (Special Edition) FS II.170, is the sixth print in Andy Warhol’s limited-edition *Special Edition* portfolio, created to illustrate the printing progression behind his 1977 screenprint *Hammer and Sickle*, FS II.164. This particular piece features the stark black background and the preliminary sketched outlines of the hammer and sickle, providing an intimate glimpse into the layered construction of Warhol’s final image.

The concept for the Hammer and Sickle series was born during Warhol’s 1976 trip to Italy, where he encountered the communist symbol repeatedly spray-painted as graffiti. Though politically loaded, Warhol approached the hammer and sickle not as a statement of ideology, but as a visual motif. He was intrigued by the symbol’s saturation in everyday culture and its potential as an object of Pop Art—stripped of context and repurposed as design.

To achieve the authenticity Warhol sought, studio assistant Ronnie Cutrone photographed a real hammer and sickle after failing to find satisfactory references in books or media. These photographs served as the basis for the series, which Warhol reconstructed in a range of visual arrangements. In the *Special Edition* portfolio, he not only deconstructs the political symbol itself, but also exposes the layers of his own artistic process—each print revealing another stage in the buildup of color, form, and meaning.

Hammer and Sickle (Special Edition) FS II.170 is especially notable for its rawness. The sketchy lines of the tools float against a deep black backdrop, emphasizing both their visual weight and symbolic ambiguity. It is one of the clearest representations of Warhol’s intent to separate form from ideology, allowing viewers to examine the image as art rather than as propaganda.

Printed in 1977 on Strathmore Bristol paper, this screenprint is hand-signed by Andy Warhol in pencil at the lower center and is numbered from a rare edition of only 10. As part of a portfolio that demystifies Warhol’s technical process while recontextualizing a global symbol, this piece is a fascinating intersection of concept, craft, and cultural commentary.

For more information on Warhol’s Hammer and Sickle (Special Edition), FS II.170 or to buy Hammer and Sickle (Special Edition), FS II.170, contact our galleries using the form below.