The label was created in 1897, and has lined grocery shelves ever since. It received iconic status when Andy Warhol painted it - in more than 100 portraits and paintings. In tribute to Warhol, the last remaining can of Campbell’s Condensed tomato soup is to be donated to the Andy Warhol archives in Pittsburgh. Why did Warhol paint Campbell's? "I just paint things I always thought were beautiful, things you see everyday and never think about," was Warhol's answer. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/430957.stm

He was reflecting the culture of his time by portraying common icons, or at least presenting well known symbols as cultural icons. Campbell's soup was a very common brand and a part of the lives of millions of people. Andy Warhol may not have even painted many of the images he became famous for, since he ran a studio called, "The factory" which was like, as the name implies, a factory with his many assistants or apprentices who would do a lot of the actual painting in place of him.

because that was all he had left in his cupboard!!! being a student i no the feeling to be pleased to see a can of soup you forgot you had!!

Good question! If you read abit about Andy Warhol, you will learn about this and about the school of art of which he was a part...some call it "Pop Art." Which is abit funny since he did Coca Cola as one of his paintings! Andy Warhol began in the 1960's to paint famous American products such as the Campbell's soup cans you mentioned. He also did paintings of Coca-Cola. Then, he decided to change gears abit, and he switched to silkscreen prints, (Marilyn Monroe, Mao, JFK, and other famous people, were a large part of what he did with the silkscreen prints- they were popular icons and famous people) trying not only to poke fun at "mass produced" items, but to also mass produce the art himself, through his art. And he did that very, very well. As you will find out in reading about him, much of Warhol's work revolves around American popular ("pop") culture. He also painted money, food, numerous celebrities, and common every day things we take for granted. To Warhol, these subjects represented America's "cultural values." He was a talented, eccentric and fascinating man, who lived a rather tough life from childhood due to poor health. What he left behind many might not think is very difficult to do or important, but like most famous artists, he contributed in his own unique way and that is part of the fun of studying art history and the various schools of art. Art says alot about the world and people in general, as seen through the artists' eyes.