Mao by Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol, Mao Tse Tung, 1972.

In 1972, Andy Warhol included China's chairman Mao Zedong in his famous series of silkscreen paintings. Warhol's timing was impeccable: Richard Nixon had just returned from China in February that same year, opening up new diplomatic channels between the two countries. However, while Warhol converted Mao into an international pop icon, in China the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) was far from over.