Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987)
Born Andrew Warhola on 5th August 1928 in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A major figure of the
pop-art movement, Warhol studied commercial art
at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He then
moved to New York and commenced a successful
career in magazine illustration working for
Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.
His first one-man show took place in 1952 and in
1956 he had his first exhibition at MOMA. Warhol
was fascinated with celebrity and become a
famous figure on the New York scene.
Apart from his art, what sets Warhol apart from
most other artists is his business acumen as
evidenced by his famous quote "Making money is
art, and working is art and good business is the
best art".
The Factory was founded in 1962 as a studio
which employed artists to mass produce prints
and posters designed by Warhol, usually in his
favorite medium of silkscreen. Early work
depicts objects of daily life, such as
Campbell's Soup Cans and Coke Bottles and turned
to prints of famous personalities like Marilyn
Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Mick Jagger.
Described by his friends as a true workaholic
Warhol died in 1987 following complications from
a gallbladder operation.
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