Marcus Adair

Period: 2

Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol, a super star of the 60s pop art culture
movement, was a significant figure in art history. Andy was a
leading man in pop art. Pop art emerged from Britain in the mid 1950s. Pop art focused on popular culture like news and
advertising. Andy Warhol used many types of media in his art like
drawing, painting, sculpting, photography, film, music, and more. Andy was a very diversified
and talented artist. Andy pioneered computer-generated art, founded a magazine company, wrote
multiple books, and even managed a rock-band. Warhol had a very interesting life, and was a
very interesting man.
Andy Warhol was born on August 6th, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Andy was the
fourth child of Ondrej and Julia Warhola, who originated from a country that no longer exists
named Mik. Andys family was a working-class family with his father working in a coal mine.
Andy grew up with two older brothers, with his oldest brother passing away in Ukraine.
Andy had sort of a rough childhood. He developed a nervous system disease called
Sydenhams chorea causing involuntary movements of the extremities, skin pigmentation, and
the scarlet fever. He also became a hypochondriac, which means young Andy developed a fear of
hospitals and doctors. With these two conditions, Andy was often bedridden and became an
outcast at school. As a child trapped in his bed, Andy drew, listened to the radio, filmed, and
developed his personality. Andy says himself, that this time as a child, defined his life and who
he would become. At the end of his childhood, at the age of 14, Andys father died from a

jaundiced liver. This teared Andy apart. He couldnt attend his own fathers funeral, and his
beneath his bed. Andys father however recognized his sons talent, and gave him his life savings
for Andys college education.
As a teenager, Warhol went to Schenley High Shool. After graduating, he originally
planned to study art and become a teacher. These plans changed when he enrolled in the
Carnegie Institute of Technology. At the Institute, he studied to pursue a career as a commercial
artist. It was at this time in college where he dropped the a in his name Warhola, and became
known as Andy Warhol. In college, Andy joined the campuss Modern Dance Club and the
Beaux Arts Society. Andy was also the art director of the schools magazine Cano. Andy
graduated college and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in pictorial design in 1949.
He then moved to New York City later in 1949 and began to pursue his art
career.
In the 1950s Warhol first started to gain fame from his ink drawings of shoes as a
commercial artist. These ink drawings were done in a whimsical blotted-ink style. Andy was
hired by RCA Records as a freelance artist to design album covers and promotional products. He
was also hired by Glamour magazine. During this time, Warhol adopted a silkscreen technique
for making paintings. Warhols art style adopted a very casual feeling, and had many
unintentional marks in his artwork. During the 1950s, Warhol won many awards for his unique
art style, and went on to become one of the most successful commercial artists of this time.
In the late 1950s and 1960s, Andy devoted his attention to painting. He switched from a
commercial artist to a fine artist. Andy began to exhibit his work. He held exhibitions at the
Bodley Gallery and the Hugo Gallery, both in New York City. His first west coast exhibition took

place in Los Angeles at the Ferus Gallery. This marked the

debut of Andys pop art, which he became a very famous
and relevant figure for.
Pop art uses aspects of mass culture like advertising, comic
books, news, and more. It emphasizes popular culture, and often uses irony.
Pop art was low cost, witty, glamorous, big business, and very popular. It
originally emerged in the 1950s, in Britain, and then moved to the United
States. It late became mostly associated with famous New York artists such
as Andy Warhol. Pop Art is a defining art of history with many pop art
pieces still very famous today, many of which, are from Andy Warhol.
During the 1960s, some of Warhols most famous painting and artworks came out. The
iconic Campbells soup cans paintings came out during this times. Also his famous vibrantly
colored celebrity portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jagger, and more came out during this time.
He also drew simple things like the soup cans such as Coca-Cola bottles, dollar bills, electric
chairs, and more. Warhol created some of his most iconic artwork during this time. Warhol also
during this time, created films and published a book. The 1960s were the craziest times for
Warhol, many things happened and defined his life during this time. During this decade, there
was a profound change in the culture of the art world and Warhol was at the center.
In 1964, Warhol opened an art studio known as The
Factory, which became a very popular cultural spot in New
York City. This studio hosted parties for wealthy socialites,
celebrities, and many well-known people. These parties also

had many odd characters such as hustlers, transvestites, rock-stars, and more. Warhol soon
became a celebrity, and developed a night-life.
In 1968, in the midst of Andys thriving career, he was almost
murdered. On June 3rd, a radical feminist name Valerie Solanis attempted to
kill Andy Warhol. Valerie appeared in Warhols film I, a Man. One day
after being turned away from Warhols own The Factory because Andy
wouldnt accept a script she wrote, she became enraged. She shot Andy
Warhol at his own studio. Warhol was seriously injured from this attack on
his life. He spent weeks in a New York hospital recovering from his
injuries. In the hospital, Andys chest was opened, and surgeons had to
massage his heart to stimulate its movement. Because of this attack, Warhol had to wear a
surgical corset for the rest of his life. The day after the assault, Valerie Solanis was arrested and
plead guilty to the crime in court. This attempted murder had a very profound effect on Warhols
life.

The 1970s was a much quieter time for Andy Warhol. During this decade, the artist
became much more of an entrepreneur. In 1973, Andy
founded Interview magazine. He published multiple
books during this time, filmed and produced multiple films,
studied photography, and explored other types of media.
During the 60s, Warhol had a very avid nightlife, but in the
70s he calmed down. During this decade, Warhol was
mostly regarded as quiet and shy, and an observer of people.
This is most likely due because of his near death experience when he almost got murdered. In
1979, Andy founded the New York Academy of Art.
In the 1980s, Andy began to move into television. He hosted two show, one named
Andy Warhols TV, and Andy Warhols Fifteen Minutes. During this time, some artists
criticized him for being a business artist and too commercialized. During this time, Warhol
created 10 portraits entitled Jewish Geniuses. At this time, he was interested in Judaism. He
also created many superficial and commercial portraits of celebrities. Many critics disliked these
portraits, and criticized this time of his life. Later however, in hindsight, critics have come to
view his art during this period as his most brilliant work.
Near the end of the 80s, Andy Warhol passed away. Warhol passed away on February 22,
1987 at the young age of 58. Andy passed away in a New York hospital during his sleep.
According to the new, Warhol had been making good recovery from his routine gallbladder
surgeries. However, he had recurring gallbladder problems. Due to him being a hypochondriac,
Warhol was scared to see doctors. He delayed having his gallbladder checked, which ultimately
lead to his death. Andys body was taken back to his home is Pittsburgh to be buried.

Some of Warhols most famous pieces of art include

The Flower

Series, Coca Cola (3), Mao, Eight Elvises,

Campbells Soup Cans, Marilyn Diptych, and many
more. Eight Elvises, painted in 1963 was a 12foot painting of eight Elvises. It was sold for 100
million dollars in 2008. Campbells Soup
Cans consisted of 32 different painting of a soup can. This is one of his most prominent pop art
painting. Arguably his most famous painting, Marilyn Diptych consisted of 50 of the same
images of Marilyn Monroe after her death in 1962. Half of the painting was very vividly colored,
with the other half being black and white. This iconic symbol of pop art was named the third
most influential piece of modern art by The Guardian. Andy produced so many famous works
of art in his lifetime.
Andy Warhol lived a very interesting life and exciting life. Starting as an artist, he did
many other things such as film, music, photography, writing, and more. He was a huge popculture figure when he lived. He was criticized often because his critiqued pop culture and
distorted it through his art, but at the same time he was obsessed with money and being a pop
culture celebrity. Andy was a very complex man. He was thought to be gay, and he claimed he
was a virgin. However, during a hospital treatment in the 60s, it was found he had a sexually
transmitted disease. Andy had an appreciation for intense Hollywood glamour. He loved Los
Angeles and Hollywood. He loved art. He associated with many odd people such as transvestites,
drag queens, rock stars, celebrities, wealthy patrons, and more. He created some of the most
expensive painting ever sold. He created some of the oddest films ever created. Currently the

largest museum dedicated to a single artist is The Andy Warhol Museum. Andy Warhol is
definitely one of the most interesting artists to have ever lived.