Andy Warhol

Andy lost his father at the age of 13, at a time when he was already going through a lot of turmoil because of his health conditions. He was quite attached to his mother since a young age, and often called himself a ‘Mama’s Boy’.

He was raised as a ‘Ruthenian Catholic’ by his parents, and continued being religious even during the later years of his life.

In 1968, radical feminist Valerie Solanas tried assassinating Andy Warhol, but the attempt backfired. Soranos was a member of Andy’s organization ‘The Factory’. The assassination almost killed Andy, but he narrowly escaped death. The shooting made a great negative impact on Andy for the rest of his life.

Andy Warhol was born on August 6, 1928 to Julia and Andrej Warhola, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest child born to the couple. Andy had two elder brothers Paul and John Warhola.

Andy was plagued by various health disorders during his childhood such as ‘Sydenham's chorea’ and ‘Scarlet Fever’. Since he was frequently diagnosed for ailments, Andy started developing a sense of fear towards hospitals and doctors.

Unlike most kids his age, Andy was a loner and didn’t have many friends. The reason was his absence from his school due to his poor health.

Andy was bedridden for a major part of his childhood. His parents and brothers often used to entertain Andy at home. He credits this turbulent period of his childhood for shaping up his personality.

After all the struggle, Andy finally managed to graduate from the ‘Schenley High School’ in 1945. He later moved to the ‘Carnegie Institute of Technology’ to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. Andy specialized in Pictorial Design during this 4-year course.

Andy relocated to New York almost immediately after completing his degree, in 1949. He started his career in advertising and magazine illustration. His ink drawings for various shoe advertisements garnered a lot of attention within New York’s advertising circles.

The growing reputation of Andy Warhol grabbed the eyes of the music label ‘RCA Records’. Andy and few other artists were hired the music label to design the covers of the various albums produced by it. He was one of the very few artists to adopt the ‘Silk Screen’ printmaking process in the 1950’s decade.

Andy, who had earned enough money by 1960 through his advertisement commitments, purchased a 4-storeyed building, so that he could experiment his art on the walls of the dwelling. This unfinished, unconventional look helped him receive a lot of appreciation.

During the 1960’s Andy made iconic illustrations for a variety of objects such as, electric chairs, ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans’, and Coca-Cola bottles. He als painted famous celebrities like Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, and Elizabeth Taylor.

Andy founded his own studio named ‘The Factory’ in New York during this time. Many artists, such as writers and musicians, joined hands with Andy, to become a part of his new initiative.

Though Andy worked on numerous print advertisements for various products, he is well known for his films. His most noted celluloid work is the 1966 experimental film, ‘Chelsea Girls’. The movie was his first commercial success. ‘Chelsea Girls’ was also known for its unconventional ‘Split-screen’ visuals, which went on to become a trend-setter.