Dearly Departed Dolly
Christian Viveros-Faune and Blake Gopnik | Strictly Critical | 11th September 2026
Parton asked Warhol to paint her portrait so she could gift it to a friend. The work didn’t please. It was similar to other Warhol portraits, that presented subjects as “impossibly perfect”. From Warhol’s perspective, these were portraits of celebrities as “shallow surfaces and absent souls”. Beneath her “eager to please” public persona, Parton was a smart and insightful songwriter. Warhol’s portrait misses that about her and about her best songs. His portrait “doesn’t match the darkness that lurks beneath.”