ANDY WARHOL

EARLY LIFE & FAMILY

• Andy Warhol was born on August 6,1928, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• His parents were Slovakian immigrants.
• His father,Ondrej,was a construction worker.
• His mother,Julia, was an embroiderer.
• Julia gave Andy his first drawing lessons, and when he was 9, she bought him a camera.
• He became very interested by photography and soon starting taking the free art classes at Carnegie Institute (Carnegie Museum of Art).

StARTING OUT

• In 1949, Andy graduated from Carnegie Institute for Technology (Carnegie Mellon University) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
• He then moved to New York City to pursue a career as a commercial artist.
• His first step to his busy career was landing his first job at Glamour Magazine.

RISING TO FAME

• Warhol eventually became one of the most successful commercial artists of the 1950s.
• He won many awards for his unique style through his blotted line technique and rubber stamps.
• In the late 1950s, he started to devote more time to painting which led to his genius invention of "pop art".

POP ART

• Pop art mainly focused on commercial goods such as the Campbell's soup cans and Coca-cola bottles. Celebrity pop art was also high in demand.
• Warhol's pop art creations created a major stir in the world of art which brought him fame from all over the country.

"EIGHT ELVISES"

• One of Warhol's most famous paintings, "Eight Elvises" was created in 1963 with silkscreen on canvas.
• This painting resold in 2008 for $100 million making it one of the most expensive paintings of all time.

"THE FACTORY"

• In 1964, Warhol opened his own art studio known as "The Factory".
• His art studio became one of New York City's most famous hotspots.
• At the peak of his career, Warhol became a fixture at New York City nightclubs such as Studio 54 and Max's Kansas City.
• In 1967, he published his first book, "Andy Warhol's Index".

VALERIE SOLANIS

• On June 3, 1968, Warhol was shot by Valerie Solanis (writer and feminist).
• Solanis starred in one of Warhol's films and knew him quite well.
• She became upset because Warhol wouldn't use a script she had written.
• Warhol spent several weeks in a New York hospital recovering from his wound.

video art

• When Warhol recovered, he published "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol" and "Exposures".
• He began to experiment with video art and ended up producing 60 films in his career.
• In the 1980s, he hosted "Andy Warhol's TV" and "Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes on MTV.

influence on today

• The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania opened on May 15, 1994.
• It is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to one artist.
• The museum has sponsored 56 traveling exhibits that have attracted 9 million people in 153 locations all over the world.

WHY ANDY WARHOL SHOULD BE IN THE AP US HISTORY HALL OF FAME

• One of the most talented, unique artists in the world.
• Invented a new style of art (pop art).
• Survived a gun wound and continued to create art and films.
• His museum is entirely dedicated to his amazing art and is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to one artist.
• He created a major stir in the world of art and became famous based on his talent alone.