Andy Warhol’s Flash Complete Portfolio (FS II.32-42) is a powerful series of 11 screenprints based on mass media imagery surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Created in 1968, the series was originally compiled into a book accompanied by excerpts of newspaper headlines and articles from the time, collectively titled Flash – November 22, 1963. Drawing directly from the public spectacle and media frenzy that followed JFK’s assassination, the series reflects Warhol’s deep fascination with celebrity, tragedy, and the role of mass media in shaping public perception.

Warhol had a long-standing interest in the Kennedy family, whose highly publicized lives and political prominence captivated the American public. Prior to Flash, he had produced a series of portraits of Jacqueline Kennedy, drawn from her most iconic and emotional moments following the assassination. He would later go on to portray Edward (Ted) Kennedy, continuing his exploration of the family’s influence and visibility. To Warhol, the Kennedys embodied a new kind of fame—where politics and celebrity merged—a theme he explored extensively throughout his career.

Though Warhol depicted other American presidents in later works—including Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan—Flash stands as his most intimate and focused presidential portfolio. In it, Warhol moves beyond portraiture into a more layered and conceptual investigation of a national trauma. The 11 screenprints portray various moments from the assassination and its aftermath: images of JFK, press coverage, Dealey Plaza, and the funeral procession. Four years after his Jackie Kennedy series, Warhol returned to this subject with Flash, this time shifting the focus directly to the slain president.

The series delves into themes of desensitization, media saturation, and the often-hidden emotional cost of fame. By repeating and recontextualizing widely circulated images, Warhol draws attention to how tragedy is consumed by the public as media spectacle.

Flash 38, a standout work from the series, exemplifies Warhol’s evolving technique during this period. He begins to layer images with increasing complexity, using overlays and graphic abstraction to create emotional tension and visual depth. In doing so, Warhol critiques how mass media distills complex human experiences into simplified, consumable images. This layered approach to JFK’s death acts both as memorial and commentary—acknowledging the impact of the event while also confronting the way it was delivered to the public.

Viewed within the broader context of Warhol’s oeuvre, the Flash portfolio (FS II.32-42) is not only a continuation of his interest in media and celebrity but also a pivotal work that grapples with collective memory, mortality, and the transformation of personal tragedy into public narrative. It is one of Warhol’s most conceptually ambitious and emotionally resonant political bodies of work.