Andy Warhol (Pittsburgh, August 6, 1928 – New York, February 22, 1987) was an influential American visual artist and filmmaker, recognized as one of the leading figures of the Pop Art movement. His work spanned various disciplines, including painting, screen printing, sculpture, and experimental film, challenging artistic conventions of his time and establishing new forms of expression.
Born into a family of Slovak immigrants, Warhol moved to New York City in 1949, where he began his career as a commercial illustrator. Throughout the 1950s, he gained prominence in the fashion and advertising industries, collaborating with magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. However, it was in the 1960s that he solidified his status as an artist, establishing his iconic "Factory" in New York—a creative space that became a hub for artists, musicians, and celebrities.
Warhol is renowned for his screen print series featuring everyday objects and celebrities, such as Campbell’s Soup Cans and Marilyn Monroe portraits. These works reflect his interest in mass culture and repetition, fundamental elements of Pop Art. Beyond painting, he ventured into experimental filmmaking with movies like Empire and Sleep and contributed to the music industry as the producer of the band The Velvet Underground.
Throughout his career, Warhol maintained an ambiguous relationship with the media, both as a subject of public attention and as a critic of the celebrity culture he helped shape. His legacy endures through the profound influence he had on generations of artists and his role in redefining society’s perception of art.
Today, his work continues to be featured in exhibitions and studied extensively, solidifying his position as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Recently, a long-lost portrait of Warhol from 1985 was rediscovered, highlighting the ongoing interest and significance of his work in the contemporary art world.
