Andy Warhol (born Andrew Warhola in 1928) is the undisputed King of the Pop Art Movement. More than twenty years after his death, Andy Warhol prints are more popular than ever, and have become some of the most favoured artworks on the market.
Leading the American Pop Art Movement in New York, Warhol began painting and reinterpreting commercial and consumer objects; such as dollar bills, electric chairs and, most famously, Campbell’s Soup Cans.
During the 1960s Warhol’s studio, The Factory, became the place to be, attracting the most iconic starts of the age. So he moved onto creating portraits of the notorious celebrities he was around, or those idolised; such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Elizabeth Taylor. Realising he could not produce his artwork fast enough by painting alone, Warhol used the printing technique, ‘silk screening’ (his most famous creations including: Red Liz, Eight Elvises, Diamond Dust Shoes and Shot Marilyns). Producing hundreds of his images, Warhol was heavily criticised by art critiques that saw the work as a capitulation to consumerism. Yet what no one can deny is that Walhol’s pop art blurred the lines between high and low art, and so question ‘what is art?’.
Instantly recognisable across the world, Andy Warhol’s prints, paintings and photography continues to influence contemporary art and culture today.
