Andy Warhol // Ladies and Gentlemen II.135 // 1975

Obsessed with celebrity, consumer culture, and mechanical (re)production, Andy Warhol (1928-1987) created some of the most iconic images of the 20th century. Warhol was the most successful and highly paid commercial illustrator in New York even before he began to make art destined for galleries. Nevertheless, his screen-printed images of Marilyn Monroe, Campbell's soup cans, and sensational newspaper stories quickly became synonymous with Pop art.

He emerged from the poverty and obscurity of an Eastern European immigrant family in Pittsburgh, to become a charismatic magnet for bohemian New York, and to ultimately find a place in the circles of High Society. For many his ascent echoes one of Pop art’s ambitions— to bring popular styles and subjects into the exclusive salons of high art. His elevation to the status of a famous icon represented a new kind of fame and celebrity for a fine artist.

Known for his cultivation of celebrity, Factory studio, and avant-garde films like Chelsea Girls (1966), Warhol was also a mentor to artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. His Pop sensibility is now standard practice, taken up by major contemporary artists Richard Prince, Takashi Murakami, and Jeff Koons, among countless others.