Andy Warhol
By Tilly Attrill
Early Life...
Andy Warhola was born on August 6th 1928 in Pennsylvania, USA. He grew up during the great depression. He had a creative side from an early age but at the age of 6 he got a illness and was confined to bed. His family would entertain him for hours showing him how to draw, paint and print.
1940's
His father died in 1942 his main wish was that Andy went to college and he was accepted at Carnegie Institute of Technology . He graduated at the age of 16, 51st out of 278 graduates in 1945. He was popular among his classmates for having unique solutions.
1950's
In the 1950's Andy started to drop the A from his name. People asked why he did this and he said "so it is easier to say" Because Warhola was a bit confusing. Throught these 10 years Andys work was mainly seen in fashion ads and record albums.
1960's
In the 1960's pop art was born. Following a decade of huge sucsess as an illustrator he bourght a four story town house and experimented with cartoon and comic strip style. He named his workshop the factory because of the method of screenprinting and repetition. He worked with many famous people such as Elvis and Marylin Monroe. He painted with bright sometimes unrealistic colours and focused on products. "The container is more important than the contents"
Shootings
In 1968 Andy was shot by Valerie Solanis, an unstable person who visited The Factory. He was in a bad condition for several days but slowly recovered.
1970-1980's
In the 70's and 80's the factory changed considerably. It was not as open as it used to be. It this period of 20 years Andy said his most famous quote "Everyone will have 15 mins of fame"
In 1987 Andy Warhol was hospitilised to have an infected gall bladder removed. Though the routine operation was successful, he died mysteriously during the early morning of February 22, 1987.
After his death
After his death in 1987 Andy Warhol has got more popular and is now seen as one of the most major artists in the 20th century. Many statues have been built to commerate him such as this one in Slovakia.