'Cowboys and Indians: Indian Head Nickel' by Andy Warhol (1986) in high resolution

The Indian Head nickel, sometimes known as 'the buffalo nickel' or the 'bison nickel' because of the animal displayed on the reverse, was an American nickel five-cent piece minted from 1913 to 1938. It was designed by sculptor James Earle Fraser.

Warhol's Indian Head Nickel reproduces in silvery tones the familiar noble profile of an American Indian which formerly appeared on the U.S. five-cent piece. The ironies are multiple. Warhol first of all focuses the viewer’s attention on the inherent contrariety of depicting the vanquished red man on an American coin, the money of his conqueror. The artist reinforces this irony, moreover, by outlining in black the word "Liberty" inscribed near the coin’s circumference.