Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American artist, filmmaker, and impresario. Drawing on imagery from advertising, mass media, and celebrity culture, he transformed everyday consumer goods and familiar icons—such as Campbell's soup cans, Marilyn Monroe, and Brillo Pad boxes—into renowned artworks, establishing himself as a leading figure in the pop art movement. Warhol is widely regarded as the most important American artist of the second half of the 20th century. * * * |group=n}}

Born to Rusyn immigrant parents in Pittsburgh, Warhol began his career as a successful commercial illustrator in New York before turning to fine art, where his embrace of mechanical reproduction, silkscreen printing, and serial repetition challenged traditional boundaries between high and low culture. His studio, the Factory, became a hub for avant-garde experimentation, bringing together drag queens, poets, bohemians, musicians, and wealthy patrons. He directed numerous underground films—such as ''Chelsea Girls'' (1966), ''Lonesome Cowboys'' (1968), and Blue Movie (1969)—featuring a shifting group of personalities known as Warhol superstars, and he is often credited with popularizing the expression "15 minutes of fame." Warhol also managed the influential rock band the Velvet Underground, who performed at his multimedia happenings, the ''Exploding Plastic Inevitable'' (1966–67). He expressed his queer identity through many of his artworks and films at a time when homosexuality in the United States was heavily stigmatized and legally constrained.

After surviving an assassination attempt by radical feminist Valerie Solanas in June 1968, Warhol shifted his attention toward developing the Factory into a more structured business enterprise. He founded ''Interview'' magazine and published several books, including ''The Philosophy of Andy Warhol'' (1975) and ''Popism'' (1980). During this period, he also expanded into television, hosting the series ''Fashion'' (1979–80), ''Andy Warhol's TV'' (1980–83), and ''Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes'' (1985–87). Warhol died of cardiac arrhythmia at the age of 58 following gallbladder surgery in February 1987.

Warhol has been described as the "bellwether of the art market", with several of his works ranking among the most expensive paintings ever sold. In 2013, ''Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)'' (1963) sold for $105 million. In 2022, ''Shot Sage Blue Marilyn'' (1964) sold for $195 million, the highest price ever paid at auction for a work by an American artist. Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books, and documentary films. The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, which holds an extensive permanent collection of his art and archives, is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to a single artist. Provided by Wikipedia