Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol was one of the most prolific and popular artists of his time, merging avant-garde and commercial sensibilities.
Who Was Andy Warhol?
Andy Warhol started as a successful magazine and ad illustrator and became a leading artist in the 1960s Pop Art movement. He explored various art forms, including performance art, filmmaking, video installations, and writing, often blurring the lines between fine art and mainstream aesthetics. Warhol passed away on February 22, 1987, in New York City.
Early Life
Born Andrew Warhola on August 6, 1928, in Oakland, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Warhol was the son of Slovakian immigrants. His father, Andrej Warhola, was a construction worker, and his mother, Julia Warhola, was an embroiderer. The family, devout Byzantine Catholics, maintained their Slovakian culture while living in Pittsburgh’s Eastern European ethnic enclave.
At eight, Warhol contracted Chorea (St. Vitus’s Dance), a rare nervous system disease that left him bedridden for months. During this time, his mother, a skilled artist, gave him drawing lessons, sparking his love for art. Warhol also developed an interest in photography when his mother bought him a camera at age nine, leading him to set up a darkroom in their basement.
Warhol attended Holmes Elementary School and took free art classes at the Carnegie Institute (now the Carnegie Museum of Art) in Pittsburgh. In 1942, his father died from a jaundiced liver, leaving Warhol devastated. His father had recognized Warhol’s artistic talent and allocated his life savings for Warhol’s college education. Warhol then attended Schenley High School and later enrolled at the Carnegie Institute for Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) to study pictorial design.
Pop Art
After earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1949, Warhol moved to New York City to pursue a career as a commercial artist. He dropped the “a” from his last name, becoming Andy Warhol. He quickly became one of the most successful commercial artists of the 1950s, known for his whimsical style, including his unique blotted line technique and rubber stamps.
Campbell’s Soup Cans
In the late 1950s, Warhol shifted his focus to painting and debuted the concept of “pop art” in 1961, featuring mass-produced commercial goods. In 1962, he showcased his iconic Campbell’s soup cans paintings, bringing him and the pop art movement into the national spotlight. British artist Richard Hamilton described pop art as “popular, transient, expendable, low cost, mass-produced, young, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamorous, big business.” Warhol himself said, “Once you ‘got’ pop, you could never see a sign the same way again. And once you thought pop, you could never see America the same way again.”
Warhol’s other famous pop art works depicted Coca-Cola bottles, vacuum cleaners, and hamburgers.
Portraits
Warhol painted celebrity portraits in vivid, garish colors, with famous subjects like Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Mick Jagger, and Mao Tse-tung. As his portraits gained fame, he received hundreds of commissions from socialites and celebrities. His portrait “Eight Elvises” resold for $100 million in 2008, becoming one of the world’s most valuable paintings.
The Factory
In 1964, Warhol opened his art studio, “The Factory,” a silver-painted warehouse that became a cultural hotspot in New York City. It hosted lavish parties attended by the city’s wealthiest socialites and celebrities, including musician Lou Reed, who paid tribute to The Factory’s regulars in his song “Walk on the Wild Side.” Warhol was a fixture at famous nightclubs like Studio 54 and Max’s Kansas City, often commenting on society’s obsession with celebrity and fame.
Shooting Incident
Warhol’s thriving career nearly ended in 1968 when he was shot by Valerie Solanas, an aspiring writer and radical feminist. Solanas, who appeared in one of Warhol’s films, was upset over his refusal to use a script she had written. Warhol was seriously wounded and required several surgeries, wearing a surgical corset for the rest of his life.
Warhol’s Books and Films
In the 1970s, Warhol continued to explore various media, publishing books like “The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again)” and “Exposures.” He also produced over 60 films, including “Sleep,” which shows poet John Giorno sleeping for six hours, and “Eat,” depicting a man eating a mushroom for 45 minutes. In the 1980s, Warhol ventured into television, hosting “Andy Warhol’s TV” and “Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes” on MTV.
Death
In his later years, Warhol suffered from chronic gallbladder issues. On February 20, 1987, he was admitted to New York Hospital for gallbladder surgery. Although the surgery was successful, Warhol later suffered complications that led to sudden cardiac arrest, and he died on February 22, 1987, at 58. Thousands attended his memorial at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
Legacy
Warhol’s personal life has been the subject of much debate. Widely believed to have been gay, his art often featured homoerotic imagery. However, he claimed to have remained a virgin throughout his life. Warhol’s work satirized and celebrated materialism and celebrity. His paintings of consumer goods and celebrities critiqued a culture obsessed with money and fame while also reveling in those very aspects. In his book “The Philosophy of Andy Warhol,” he wrote, “making money is art and working is art, and good business is the best art.”
Quick Facts
Name: Andy Warhol
Birth Year: 1928
Birth Date: August 6, 1928
Birth State: Pennsylvania
Birth City: Oakland, Pittsburgh
Birth Country: United States
Gender: Male
Best Known For: Andy Warhol was one of the most prolific and popular artists of his time, using both avant-garde and highly commercial sensibilities.
Industries: Art, Film
Astrological Sign: Leo
Schools: Carnegie Institute (Carnegie Museum of Art), Schenley High School, Carnegie Institute for Technology (Carnegie Mellon University)
Interesting Facts: Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” is a tribute to the individuals he’d met at Andy Warhol’s “The Factory,” including Holly Woodlawn, “Sugar Plum Fairy” Joe Campbell, and Jackie Curtis.
Death Year: 1987
Death Date: February 22, 1987
Death State: New York
Death City: New York
Death Country: United States
