Andy Warhol was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. He is best known as a leader of the pop art movement.

Andrew Warhola was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was a sickly child but, during his time in bed, he drew, listened to the radio, and collected pictures of movie stars. He showed early artistic talent and, upon graduation from high school, he studied commercial art at Carnegie Mellon University.

After college, he moved to New York City and began a career in advertising and magazine illustration. He gained fame in the 1950s for his whimsical ink drawings.

Warhol believed that art could be fashion, decoration, business, or politics. He said that he did not to see a difference between a museum and a department store. He was fascinated by Hollywood and he used all of those interests and images to create his artwork.

In the 1960s, Warhol began to make paintings of iconic American products like Campbell’s Soup Cans and Coca-Cola bottles. He also painted celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali and Elizabeth Taylor. He sometimes repeated the same image again and again the way a newspaper or printing press would.

Warhol founded an art studio called “The Factory.” Many artists, writers, musicians, and celebrities gathered there. Warhol painted their pictures, produced their albums, made movies with them. He even started Interview magazine. He used assistants to increase his productivity but those collaborations made some people angry. His work became very famous and very controversial.

Critics were surprised by Warhol’s paintings of popular culture and the fact that other people helped him make his artwork. His way of making art was very different from the artists who were famous before him. But it was clear to most historians that there had been a big change in the art world and Andy Warhol was at the center of it.

In the 1970s, Andy Warhol devoted himself to painting rich patrons. “Making money is art,” He said, “Working is art and good business is the best art.” Some people didn’t like the fact that Warhol was so interested in business. His artistic vision was never compromised though. The many portraits that Andy created during that time were designed for a future show. According to his diaries, all the paintings were meant be collected into a portrait of that entire decade.

Warhol was well known around the world but he was a shy person and, at parties, he was a quiet observer. Some of his observations are still discussed today. Most famously, he said “In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” A few years later though, he corrected himself. “I hate that line,” He said, “I never say it anymore. Now I say ‘In fifteen minutes, everyone will be famous.’”

Andy Warhol died in 1987. He donated his fortune to the creation of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Its purpose is to support artistic expression and the creative process. If you are ever in Pittsburgh, you can visit the Andy Warhol Museum. Until then, visit Warhol.org.

Portrait drawn by yours truly

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