Andy Warhol

August 6, 1928- February 22, 1987

Andy Warhol As A Child

• Born as Andy Warhola in Pittsburg, PA

• When he was 8 yrs old he contracted Chorea that left him bedridden for several months. During this time his mom gave him his first art lesson. This began his love of drawing and became one of his favorite things to do as a child.

• When he was 9, he got his first camera and would develop his film in a make shift darkroom in his basement.

• In elementary school, he took free art lessons at the Carnegie Institute (now the Carnegie Museum of Art) in Pittsburgh.

Andy Warhol In His Teens

• In 1942, at the age of 14, Warhol’s father died. His father had recognized Andy's artistic talents, and in his will he dictated that his life savings go toward Warhol's college education.

• Upon graduating high school in 1942, he enrolled at the Carnegie Institute for Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) to study pictorial design.

• After graduating college he changed his name to Andy Warhol and moved to New York City to become a commercial artist

Andy Warhol As An Adult

• He got his first job at Glamour Magazine in 1949. • He was one of the most successful artists in the

1950’s. • He won many awards for his work and became

known for his unique style, using his own blotted line technique and rubber stamps to create his drawings.

• In the late 1950’s he began to devote more time to painting and in 1961 developed the style now known as Pop Art….paintings that focused on mass-produced commercial goods.

Andy Warhol Creates the Pop Art Movement

• In 1962 he debuted his paintings of Campbell’s Soup Cans.

• In 1964, Warhol opened his own art studio, a large silver-painted warehouse known simply as "The Factory." The Factory quickly became one of New York City's premier cultural hotspots, the scene of lavish parties attended by the city's wealthiest socialites and celebrities.

• In the late 1960s and into the 1970s, Warhol began

expanding into new artistic mediums. He put together his first book, Andy Warhol's Index, in 1967, and released several books in the 1970s.

• Warhol also experimented with video art. He produced over 60 films in his lifetime. They aren’t the kind of movies you go see in the typical movie theater. He made a movie titled Sleep, that shows a man sleeping for six hours, and Eat, that shows a man eating a mushroom for 45 minutes!

• Warhol also hosted two television shows the 1980s, Andy Warhol's TV and Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes on MTV.

Andy Warhol was one of the most successful modern artists of all time. His portrait " Eight

Elvises" eventually resold for $100 million in 2008, making it one of the most valuable

paintings in world history.

During his career, Warhol also painted celebrity portraits in vivid colors. His most famous subjects include Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Michael Jackson. As he

became more famous, Warhol began to receive hundreds of commissions for portraits from socialites and celebrities.

In 1979, he even painted a race car!

And Mickey Mouse!

Project Details Andy Warhol's repetitive style is fun to duplicate and the perfect example for students to create their own repetitive drawings using Sharpies on acetate.

• Review some of Andy Warhol's portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley,

etc. Collect several photos of celebrities or of the student's themselves and copy in black and white. Let the students choose one photo, and give them 3 sheets of acetate and a black Sharpie marker.

• Ask the students place the acetate over their photos and trace the edges in black. When tracing is complete, the voids can be filled in with colored Sharpies. After one drawing is complete, the students are to make two more, using a variety of colors.

• Trim the acetate if necessary. Using colorful card stock, cut three paper frames to fit the size of the art. Tape the acetate to the back of each frame. The panels can be posted flat to a wall, or taped together to make a z-fold card.