Andy Warhol Short Biography

Andrew Warhola was born to Slovakian immigrant parents in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 6, 1928. At age 8 he contracted the infectious disease chorea, which caused him to be bedridden and unable to attend school. While he was sick in bed, his mother would give him drawing lessons. He would also play with paper cutouts and read comics. this made his love for the arts develop very early on in life. At age nine, he was given his first camera by his parents.

In 1949, he graduated with a Bachelor of fine arts.

He then moved to New York City and dropped the 'a' at the end of his name, becoming "Andy Warhol". In New York, he pursued commercial art. He was hired by Glamour Magazine and became one of the most successful commercial artists of his time.

He used many mediums and art styles throughout his life. He dabbled in performance art, filmmaking, writing, and ad illustrating. Perhaps his most popular works were his silkscreen prints. He also used the blotted line technique to transfer and copy prints, as well as rubber stamps. He popularized the "Pop Art" movement in 1961. His art focused on common  commercial items - Coca Cola, Campbell's Soup, etc.

He also found joy in painting celebrities. Among those he painted were Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Elizabeth Taylor, Prince, and Michael Jackson. He also painted the infamous, creating a mural of the "Thirteen Most Wanted Men" at the 1964 World's Fair. However, the mural was covered by silver paint before the opening, as not to take away from the "family friendly" vibe of the fair.

Warhol's art was often criticized, even seen as not true art to some. One of his most criticized - yet most famous works were the "Campbell's Soup Cans". One art dealer mocked Warhol's piece by stacking actual soup cans in his gallery. However, this did not stop Warhol. He kept going and creating more art. His most valuable piece to date is "Eight Elvises" which was sold for $100 million in 2008. Warhol left a great legacy and impact on art, and caused people to rethink what is considered art.

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