Andy Warhol





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 hang out 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.

Quotes

   * "In the future, everybody will be world famous for 15 minutes."
     (slightly misquoted as "...will be famous for 15 minutes." or "Everyone
     will have their fifteen minutes of fame) -the meaning is that fame