Andy Warhol was one of the leading pop artists. He was born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania America on the 6th August 1928. His family emigrated from what is now known as the Slovak Republic.
He studied art at what was known as the Carnegie Institute of Technology and is now known as Carnegie Mellon University. When he graduated in 1949 he went to New York where he worked as a Commercial artist.
By the 1960's he was creating paintings of famous items and people. Campbell's Soup Cans, Coca - Cola bottles and the actress Marilyn Monroe made his work famous. These were multiple images of the same thing in one picture. The one of the actress Marilyn Monroe was a black portrait having a different coloured background. Another variation was Monroe as a coloured portrait again with different coloured backgrounds.
In 1968 he was shot at his studio by Valerie Solanis who was an acquaintance. He had been shot in the chest and no one thought he would survive. But doctors opened up his chest and carried out heart massage which miraculously worked.
Warhol made art commercial, different straightforward by using simple every day images. He wouldn't talk about his work ever leaving the viewer quite rightly to interpret the work how they thought. Art is seen by many eyes and through those eyes it is seen differently.
Andy Warhol famously said once. "In the future everyone will be world famous for fifteen minutes." The quote has been frequently used and been shortened to "Famous for fifteen minutes."
He died on the 22nd February 1987 after an operation on his gallbladder. He had brought art to the masses and was involved in art in all its various forms drawing, painting, printing, photography and film. He didn't just do comic art he would also do serious work too.
© Children's Web Magazine 2007