Bio
Widely recognised as one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Andy Warhol is famous for transforming everyday life and consumer culture into fine art.
Born in Pittsburgh to parents recently emigrated from the European region now known as Slovakia, Warhol grew up in economically challenging circumstances. Still, his parents noticed and nurtured his artistic abilities, and in 1949 he travelled to New York to begin a lucrative career as a commercial artist. Unsatisfied with this success, Warhol turned his focus solely to art and became a pioneer of the Pop art movement, taking his astute observations of American culture and channelling them into groundbreaking yet accessible pieces such as Campbell’s Soup Cans, Brillo Boxes and Green Coca-Cola Bottles. The Marilyn Diptych, created in 1962 shortly after Marilyn Monroe’s death, is one of the most recognised and duplicated images in existence.
Still, Warhol’s influence stretches far beyond these iconic images. He is considered to have transformed the meaning of both art and the artist, expanding the parameters of what could be considered ‘art’ across the many mediums he worked in; which included painting, photography, filmmaking, writing, publishing, advertising, branding, performance, video, television, digital media and music.
Though Warhol died prematurely at the age of 58 in 1987, he retains a powerful presence within the art world -- and in culture at large.
