How a long-lost Warhol painting became an iconic vodka bottle design

With few artists as famous for brand collaborations as Andy Warhol, and few brands as famous for artist collaborations as Absolut, it has come as no surprise to see the two collide over the last few decades. Warhol first painted an Absolut Vodka bottle in 1985, and that brightly rendered artwork became a limited edition vodka bottle in 2014. And now, with the rediscovery of a long lost companion painting by Warhol, Absolut is catching lightning in a bottle for a second time.

The fabled ‘blue’ variation of Warhol’s Absolut painting existed only in rumour until 2020, when it unexpectedly appeared in auction. The brand naturally snapped it up for its Absolut Art Collection (after unearthing the original contract to prove ownership), and now not only has the piece formed the basis of a stunning new limited edition packaging design, but it is currently on display alongside its more famous neon counterpart at a brand new Warhol exhibition at Stockholm’s Spritmuseum. (For some awesome print design from Absolut, take a look at the ads for its recent collaboration with Heinz.)

“There's a bit of a mystery around the companion painting,” Deb Dasgupta, global VP of marketing at Absolut, told Creative Bloq. “Whether it was sold, whether it was lost in the Warhol factory. All we know is that it re-emerged very recently in a Swedish auction house, and upon investigation, we discovered out that it was the Warhol original.” 

The limited edition bottle features a multi-layered screen-printed design, with each shade of blue carefully extracted from the painting to deliver a striking likeness to the original, and a uniquely tactile texture. “This collaboration mixes the legacies of two historic icons, Absolut and Andy Warhol, to create a limited edition piece of art that you can take home,” Deb adds. “It's been an absolute labour of love.“

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Money on the Wall, Spritmuseum’s new Andy Warhol retrospective, deals explicitly with the artist’s ’business art’ concerns. “Is there anything more central to our modern world than buying and selling?” asks exhibition curator Blake Gopnik. “This exhibition shows how Andy Warhol made our commercial culture his central subject… some say Warhol was a sellout: they are right. Selling out was one of his most influential art forms.” 

At the centre of the exhibition are the two Absolut paintings, with ‘Absolut Warhol (The Blue Version)’ on display for the very first time since it was commissioned in 1985. The exhibition also contains subversive works by Warhol’s contemporaries, including MSCH – stay tuned for our interview with the Brooklyn-based collective. Money on the Wall is open at Spritmuseum until 27 April 2025.