Andy Warhol (original) (raw)

Andy Warhol (August 6, 1928 - February 22, 1987) was an American painter and major figure in the pop art movement.

Warhol started his career in advertising. In the mid 1950s he started to make paintings of famous American products like Campbell's soup cans and Coca-Cola. In the 1960s he switched to silkscreen prints. His studio, The Factory, located on Union Square, in New York City, became a meeting place of artists and would-be artists like Mick Jagger, Lou Reed and Truman Capote. Managed the Velvet Underground.

One of the regulars, Valerie Solanas, shot Warhol in 1968, almost killing him. On June 3, 1968 she entered his studio and fired three shots at Warhol. Although the first two rounds missed, her third shot sent a bullet through Warhol's left lung, spleen, stomach, liver, esophagus and right lung. Solanas then turned the gun on a companion of Warhol, injuring his thigh. Although Warhol survived these injuries, he never fully recovered.

In 1970s and 1980s he mainly made prints of famous people such as Marilyn Monroe.

Besides being a painter, Warhol also made movies. Between 1963 and 1968, he made more than sixty films. His most famous one is Sleep (1963), which shows a man sleeping for eight hours. In the 35 minute film Blow Job (1963), he shows the face of a man receiving fellatio. The character of Warhol has also been played by David Bowie and Jared Harris in the films Basquiat and I Shot Andy Warhol, respectively.

Warhol used to socialize at Serendipity, a club in New York City. The Andy Warhol Museum is located in the North Shore district of Pittsburgh, PA. It is the largest American art museum dedicated to a single artist.

Warhol was born in Pittsburgh (assumed), PA, United States and died in New York, NY, United States. He is interred at St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery south of Pittsburgh.

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