Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (born Andrew Warhola) was one of the most well known and influential artists of the late 20th century. Warhol moved from his birthplace of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to New York and worked as a commercial artist for many magazines including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and the New Yorker. He also did window displays and advertisements for retail stores. His first profitable job was illustrating an article in Glamour magazine titled "Success is a Job in New York" (Andy Warhol: Biography).
In the 1950s he was known as a very successful commercial artist and won several awards from the Art Director's Club and the American Institute of Graphic Arts. It was around this time he shortened his last name to "Warhol". In 1952 he had his first art show at Hugo Gallery and had his first group show at The Museum of Modern Art in 1956 (Andy Warhol: Biography).
In the 1960s, Warhol began producing some of his most recognizable and famous paintings. He began painting Campbell's soup cans and Coca-Cola bottles. Later on he began using the silkscreen method to mass produce his work. A lot of his work was based on pop culture and what America thought was important at the time. A few other of his most famous pieces are his portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Liza Minelli, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, and James Dean. He also painted money, women's shoes, groceries, and newspaper clippings. All of his work was done in his studio called "The Factory" located on Union Square in New York. He hired many workers to assist him with his prints, films, and books. These "art workers" were his friends who often appeared in his films and helped write his books. These men and women were referred to as "Factory workers." When Warhol was scheduled to lecture at a university, he would send one his friends dressed as him to instead if he did not want to go himself. The imposter Warhol would quietly sit on stage while other "Factory workers" talked about Warhol's work and...
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