Purple Cows (FS.II 17A) by Andy Warhol features twenty stamped purple cows arranged on a sheet smaller than a standard piece of printer paper. The work was part of a bound group portfolio titled *Stamped Indelibly*, which also included contributions from notable artists and writers such as Robert Creeley, Allen Ginsberg, Red Grooms, Robert Indiana, Allen Jones, Kenneth Koch, Josef Levi, Roy Lichtenstein, Gerard Malanga, Marisol (Marisol Escobar), Claes Oldenburg, Peter Saul, Tom Wesselmann, and John Willenbecher.

Purple Cows FS. 17A is a rare instance of Warhol using rubber stamping in his art—an approach he generally avoided, considering it too “homemade” for his larger body of print work. However, the imagery ties back to one of Warhol’s important themes: the *Cow* motif. In 1966, a year prior to *Purple Cows 17A*, Warhol released his first *Cow* print, which eventually expanded into a full series of screenprinted wallpaper. Through the image of cows—similar to his later Rorschach inkblots—Warhol challenged traditional notions of art and its subject matter.

Between 1966 and 1976, Warhol completed the Cow Complete Portfolio, featuring variations such as Pink Cow on Yellow Background (1966), Brown Cow with Blue Background (1971), Yellow Cow on Blue Background (1971), and *Pink Cow on Purple Background (1976). These works are cataloged as FS II.11, FS II.11A, FS II.12, and FS II.12A, respectively.