An illustration of a bowl of blue and red fruit. A French tricolour flag on a thin pole is planted in the centre.

Illustration: What a treat! Andy Warhol's fabulous drawings of cakes

Words: Liv Siddall
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Date: 21 November 2013; Work
Illustration

Hm? Some inked illustrations of party food by none other than Andy Warhol? Don’t mind if we do. That trifle! Those weird, towering cakes! That French plate! Nothing could be more spectacular than some rarely seen images by someone so ludicrously famous, especially when they’re this whimsical. These drawings by Andy and the recipes by his friend Suzie Frankfurt were meant to be a take on the french haute cuisine cookbooks of the 1950s and were painstakingly created. Unfortunately the book never took off and the copies were mainly given out to all their friends as gifts in order to shift them. Bet those friends are pretty happy now considering just one, framed page is worth a whopping $30,000 a pop.

An illustration of a tiered, bright green cake on a white cake stand. Below the image, handwritten text reads “Greengages a la Warhol” followed by a recipe for a dessert using greengages and “Lucky Whip”. — Above
Andy Warhol: Wild Rasberries

An illustration of a bright pink, dome-shaped salad topped with a cluster of green asparagus spears. Some spears are capped with small, yellow-centred eggs. Handwritten text below reads “salade de alf Landon”, followed by a recipe for a bombe with jelly, lobster tail, and cocks’ kidneys. — Above
Andy Warhol: Wild Rasberries

An illustration of a recipe for “Cardoons a la Mousseline”. Five orange, ribbed vegetables topped with pink garnishes sit in a purple pedestal bowl. — Above
Andy Warhol: Wild Rasberries

An illustration of a yellow cake decorated with green spheres and a pink rose on top. A yellow handle arching over the cake is adorned with small red strawberries. Below the cake, a handwritten title reads “Gateau of Marzipan”. A paragraph of cursive text describes the ingredients and preparation of the cake. — Above
Andy Warhol: Wild Rasberries

A handwritten recipe page featuring cursive text and ink drawings. Illustrations include a cloche covering a dish, a green goblet with yellow floral elements, and a bowl of food. — Above
Andy Warhol: Wild Rasberries

An illustration of a stylised dessert consisting of a yellow triangular cake topped with a green bowl and purple orchids. Hand-drawn labels point to the ingredients, including “cherry”, “orchids” and “papaya”. Below the image, a cursive title reads “Baked Hawaii”, followed by a handwritten recipe. — Above
Andy Warhol: Wild Rasberries

An illustration of a tiered, bright pink cake topped with a small heart. The cake sits on a wire stand, with the handwritten words “Torte a la Dobosch” below. Handwritten notes and a recipe are scribbled in ink across the top of the page. A small tag at the bottom reads “Dickie Camp $169”. — Above
Andy Warhol: Wild Rasberries

An illustration of a silver platter piled with blue spheres, surrounded by a ring of cherries, mint leaves and almonds. A French flag on a pole stands in the centre. Handwritten text below reads “Chocolate Balls a la Chambord” and provides instructions for decorating the platter and serving the dish. — Above
Andy Warhol: Wild Rasberries

Further Info

www.brainpickings.org/wild-rasberries

About the Author

Liv Siddall

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Liv joined It’s Nice That as an intern in 2011 and worked across online, print and events, and was latterly Features Editor before leaving in May 2015.

Illustration: What a treat! Andy Warhol's fabulous drawings of cakes

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