The Life of Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol was the son of Slovak immigrants who was born August 6, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Andy Warhol was born Andrew Warhola. When Andy was 13 years old, his father, who was a construction worker, died in an accident.

When Andy was a third grader he became ill with St. Vitus' disease, which is a complication of scarlet fever. St. Vitus' disease affects the nervous system and causes the body to move or jerk involuntarily. Because of having the disease Andy was in and out of the hospital and was bed-ridden at times. The disease also affected the pigment of his skin, and made his skin look blotchy. The children did not accept him at this point, and his mother became his best friend. Due to getting the illness Andy starting drawing and listening to the radio. He also like to cut pictures of movie stars out of magazines and hang them near his bed. Later in life Andy became afraid of medical doctors and hospitals because of his childhood illness.

Warhol graduated in 1949, from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, where he studied commercial art. After graduating, Andy pursued a career in magazine illustration and advertising in New York City, New York, and became very successful. Along with doing commercial advertising, Andy also worked for magazines such as Vogue and Harpar's Bazaar.

Some of Andy's earliest art showings were held at the Bodley Gallery in New York. Andy soon evolved into one of New York's most sought after successful commercial artists.

In the 1960's, Andy Warhol started painting objects that you are likely to see on a daily basis, like Campbell's soup cans and coke bottles. Andy Warhol became known as a "Pop Icon".In 1962, Andy started painting celebrities. Andy painted portraits of Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe just to name a few. Andy soon started making silkscreens and felt that art should be able to be mass produced.

In 1962, Andy founded "The Factory" which was an art studio. "The Factory" was not your average art studio. Andy hired people to work in "The Factory" to help him mass produce his art work. Andy also used "The Factory" to shoot underground films, which were said to be rather bizarre in nature.

In July of 1968, a woman who worked for him at the factory, named Valerie Solanis, actually shot Andy 2-3 times in the chest. He barely escaped with his life. Valerie Solanis said that she did it because "he had too much control over my life". Andy allegedly never completely healed from his gunshot wounds, and had to wear a bandage around his waist for the next 19 years which was the rest of his life.

In the 1970's Andy Warhol worked more as a freelancer or entrepreneur, and focused most of his time to painting portraits of the rich and famous. Andy painted portraits of Mick Jagger, Brigitte Bardot, John Lennon, Diana Ross and more. In 1973 Andy painted the portrait of a Chinese dictator named Mao Zedong. He was also co-founder of Interview magazine along with Gerard Malanga.

Andy was one of the first American artists to admit that he was gay. Many of Andy's films were of a pornographic nature and were played in gay theaters.

Andy was a Byzantine Rite Catholic and often volunteered at some of New York's homeless shelters. A pastor at the church Andy attended said that Andy came to the church on a daily basis. Although you would never know it by looking at most of them, many of his painting had religious subjects or themes hidden in them. Andy was said to be a private type of person.

February 22, 1987, Andy Warhol passed away from complications of gall bladder surgery, in New York City. Andy Warhol was 58 years old when he passed away. The Andy Warhol Museum was opened 2 years after his death in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.