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Andy Warhol was born Andrew Warhola in 1928 to immigrant parents from north-eastern Slovakia.
He lived in Pittsburgh until 1949 when he graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in pictorial design. Upon graduation he moved to New York and established a highly successful career as a commercial artist and designer for some of Manhattan’s major fashion magazines and advertising agencies in the 1950s.
In the early 1960s he made his foray into fine art and began making iconic pop paintings that used as their source ordinary objects from daily life such as televisions, bathtubs, soup cans, cars and Coca-Cola bottles. In 1961–62 he developed his photographic silkscreen method of producing works, for which he became renowned.
From the time of his first solo exhibition in 1962 until his death in 1987 he was seen as the figurehead of Pop.
Warhol saw art in everything and challenged the New York art world with his serial paintings of Campbell’s soup cans, Hollywood stars, disasters and celebrities.
He produced some of the most radical experiments in film which continue to resonate with filmmakers and new media artists today; and his establishment of Interview magazine in 1969 opened a new chapter in publishing and the promotion of celebrities, fashion, music and art.
| 1928 | born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 1945 | attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) where he majored in pictorial design |
| 1949 | moved to New York and worked as a magazine illustrator for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and The New Yorker. Prophetically, his first assignment was for Glamour magazine for an article titled ‘Success is a job in New York’ |
| 1952 | first solo show: the exhibition ‘Fifteen Drawings Based on the Writings of Truman Capote’ at the Hugo Gallery |
| 1956 | first group show at the Museum of Modern Art |
| 1960s | created many paintings appropriating images from popular culture, such as the Campbell's Soup Cans, ‘Disaster’ works and Marilyns. |
| 1963 | made about 600 films from 1963 to 1976, ranging from almost 500 short Screen Tests (four-minute portrait films from 1963–66), to the 25-hour long film **** (aka Four Stars, in 1967–68) - notable classics of avant-garde cinema include Sleep (1963), Empire (1963), Kiss (1963–64) and The Chelsea Girls (1966) |
| 1965 | assumed management of The Velvet Underground, introducing Nico (a mysterious European model/chanteuse with a deep voice) to the rock quartet; the band provided the music for his multimedia roadshow, Exploding Plastic Inevitable, which included 16 mm film projections and colours by Warhol |
| 1966 | produced The Velvet Underground's debut album, often known as "the banana album" because of its distinctive Warhol-designed cover (by 1967 the association with The Velvet Underground had come to an end) |
| 1968 | Valerie Solanas, founder and sole member of SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men) walked into Warhol's studio, known as the Factory, and shot him in what was a nearly fatal attack |
| 1970s | began publishing Interview magazine and renewed his focus on painting - works created in this decade include the Mao, Skull, Hammer and Sickle, Torso and Shadow works, as well as many commissioned portraits |
| 1975 | published The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again) - now firmly established as a major twentieth-century artist and international celebrity, Warhol exhibited his work extensively in museums and galleries around the world |
| 1980 | published POPism: The Warhol ’60s |
| 1982 | exhibitions of Gun, Knives, Cross and Dollar Sign paintings in New York and Madrid; also created cable television shows, Andy Warhol's TV |
| 1980s | paintings included the Self-Portrait, The Last Supper, Rorschach and Camouflage series |
| 1986 | created Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes for MTV |
| 1987 | died on 22 February 1987 aged 59, following routine gall bladder surgery |
Andy Warhol Debbie Harry 1980, Acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen, Two panels: 106.7 x 106.7cm (each). The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
Andy Warhol Self Portrait No.9 1986, Acrylic and screenprint on canvas, 203.5 x 203.7cm. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of the National Gallery Women's Association, Governor, 1987. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
Andy Warhol Campbell's soup 1 1968, Colour screenprint, Impression 156 from an edition of 250, Ten sheets: 91.8 x 61.3cm (each), ed.156/250. Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
Andy Warhol Judy Garland c.1979, Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, Two panels: 101.6 x 101.6cm (each). The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
Andy Warhol Self-Portrait 1966-67, Acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen, 55.9 x 55.9cm. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
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