Beyond his celebrity portraits and iconic soup cans, Pop artist Andy Warhol had a profound interest in nature and the environment.

His “Vanishing Animals” series was produced in 1986, comprised of ten prints of various endangered animals—from a California Condor to a Sömmering Gazelle—three of which are included in Artnet Auctions Post-War and Contemporary Art sale. Executed with his signature silkscreen technique, the graphic quality of the animal’s rendering and their stylistic parallels with Warhol’s other bodies of work result in each animal appearing as much an icon of their species as an individual specimen.

Andy Warhol, Douc Langur (1986)

Andy Warhol, Douc Langur (1986). Est. $25,000–$35,000.

The “Vanishing Animals” series was not Warhol’s first foray into the animal kingdom. In 1983 he created the “Endangered Species” portfolio, also featuring ten silkscreen prints. This earlier series was commissioned by art dealers Ronald and Frayda Feldman in an effort to raise awareness around endangered animals, conservation efforts, and to mark the ten-year anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. A graphite-on-paper study for one of these works, appears in the present Post-War and Contemporary sale, illuminating the artist’s command of line and form alone.

Andy Warhol, Bald Eagle (1983)

Andy Warhol, Bald Eagle (1983). Est. $35,000–$50,000.

Following the “Endangered Species” series, “Vanishing Animals” reflects a powerful, ongoing interest in and passion for environmental activism as the artist’s life and career progressed. Each work showcases a different and meticulously crafted colorway and approach to composition, alluding to the time and care Warhol took to not only capture the likeness of each animal but raise them to an almost mythological status—one that can be interpreted as a metaphor for the animal’s possible fate.

Andy Warhol, California Condor (1986)

Andy Warhol, California Condor (1986). Est. $25,000–$35,000.

Created just one year before the artist’s death, the “Vanishing Animals” series marks a significant moment in the artist’s oeuvre, a culmination of a lifetime refining his hallmark style and ever-evolving lines of artistic inquiry. Because of this, they remain some of Warhol’s most sought-after works on the secondary market, offering collectors a piece of not only art history but a cogent reminder to the world of the delicate balance between humans and nature.

Postwar and Contemporary Art is now live for bidding through November 20, 2025.