Andy Warhol was a key element to the birth of the pop art movement. From his well known and even scandalous paintings to his sculptures and films, this “Pope of Pop” as he was often called, lived an eventful life until his untimely death. The successes of Andy Warhol are immense with many of his works of art highly sought after even to this day.

Born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in 1928, he was the fourth child for his Russian immigrant parents. His social label as being an outsider began at an early age when he developed chorea during the 3rd grade due to complications from scarlet fever.

He was frequently confined to bed, which allowed his artistic abilities to take flight. He began to familiarize himself with various artistic mediums including radio, movies, and drawing.

His early creativity and talents continued to expand as he studied at the Carnegie Institute and later graduated with a degree in pictorial design from what is now known as Carnegie Melon University. He relocated to New York City soon after to launch what would be a long, successful career.

The 1950’s and 1960’s proved to be pivotal to the career of Andy Warhol. Over the course of his artistic life, he gained fame through a wide array of outlets.

During these years, he tried his hand at painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, film making, and even writing. The true beginning of his career began with his unusual ink blot drawings that were ultimately used for commercial advertising.

He used this style of painting in a large portion of his early artwork, which was mainly inspired by the cartoon media. During the 1950’s, he launched himself into the exhibition world in both New York City and Los Angeles.

On display were many of his pop art pieces at the time including 100 Soup Cans, 100 Coke Bottles, and the beginnings of his many celebrity inspired paintings such as those of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, and Elizabeth Taylor. While his shows were widely popular, his art became the center of much controversy due to his focus on consumerism.

His work had a great impact on the future of pop culture as well as the art world, which was evident in the flourishing business he received at his own studio, “The Factory”. His popularity led to many other artistic opportunities including the designing of various album covers for such highly visible artists as the Rolling Stones, Diana Ross, and years later for Michael Jackson’s Thriller album.

This period of his life was a time of many other artistic ventures as well. In the early 1950’s, he began to write and ultimately self-publish numerous books and compilations of his artwork.

During the mid to late 1960’s, Andy Warhol became an extremely productive filmmaker. His work included hundreds of black and white shorts as well as over sixty films including Sleep and Chelsea Girls.

This artistic legend took on the music world by managing and producing the band Velvet Underground. His creative works of art later gave artistic influence to such musical talents as David Bowie and Devo. Additionally, he gained fame for numerous sculptures, including many made out of grocery store cartons.

From an early age until his unfortunate death in early 1987, Andy Warhol made his mark in many aspects of the art world as well as pop culture. This remains evident through the continued popularity in his work and the foundation for the Visual Arts that his estate created.

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