The Cincinnati Art Museum commissioned this painting from Andy Warhol in June 1985 in anticipation of Pete Rose's record-breaking 4,192nd hit. The contract stated that the painting was to consist of four panels repeating the same image. The work was to be executed in Warhol's typical style of combining hand painting and screen printing. Warhold selected a photo by Cincinnati photographer Gordon Baer from Rose's book "Pete Rose on Hitting." The composition of the painting was inspired by baseball cards, which Warhol used to make a statement about the commercialization of art.
There was worry that the piece would not be finished before Rose broke the record — he only had thirty seven hits to go. Fortunately, the painting was delivered to the Museum on September 9th and installed the following day. The next day, September 11th, Rose broke Ty Cobb's all-time record of hits in front of a hometown crowd.
