Exhibition

9.9.2026–5.4.2027
Wed–Mon, 10:00–18:00
Beethoven-Haus Bonn

A few weeks before Andy Warhol’s sudden death on February 22, 1987, he conceived his silkscreen series BEETHOVEN 1987. With it, Warhol not only created one of his last prints, but also an icon of twentieth-century Beethoven reception. The series was published by the Bonn gallerist Hermann Wünsche and presented to the public at the Beethovenhalle during the 1989 Beethovenfest. The two motifs for the silkscreen series, Joseph Karl Stieler’s famous Beethoven portrait and the autograph of the »Moonlight« Sonata, also originate from the Beethoven House in Bonn.

This special exhibition chaired by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media traces the development of Andy Warhol’s Beethoven portfolio for the first time, placing it in the context of his entire oeuvre. Through over a hundred of Warhol’s works, some of them being displayed publicly for the first time, including unknown Beethoven drawings, record covers, trial proofs, and silkscreens on canvas, this thematic exhibition sheds light on an important cultural chapter of the Bonn Republic.

€ 18 (reduced € 12), Tickets at the Beethoven-Haus

Supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Gielen-Leyendecker-Stiftung