Andy Warhol

A pioneer of the Pop Art movement, Andy Warhol embraced consumerism and its aesthetic at a time when most of his contemporaries were rebelling against it. With his shock of white hair and penchant for dark glasses and black clothing, he relished and lived up to his celebrity, even when his work received mixed reactions. “Art is what you can get away with,” he famously declared, revelling in his notoriety.

Warhol’s studio, ‘The Factory’, in New York - a glib reference to the mass-produced nature of his work - opened in 1964 and quickly became a hub for movie stars, models, artists and musicians. An opportunity to observe celebrity culture and popular icons up close, his silkscreen prints of Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor and Jackie Kennedy are among the most famous examples of his visionary style of Pop Art and pop culture.

Exploring the relationship between artistic expression, the cult of celebrity and advertising, which flourished in 1960s New York, Warhol’s work spanned a variety of media, including painting, silkscreening, photography, film and sculpture. Today, more than 30 years after his death, demand for his iconic works continues to grow.