Designed by fsc student and agb design fellow, riley karau

Arguably the most famous American artist of the 20th century, Warhol is today, appropriately, a household name. Born in Pittsburgh in 1928 as Andrew Warhola (and reinventing himself in New York City as “Andy Warhol”), he is heralded as the figurehead of the American Pop Art movement, and his subjects, however famous or infamous themselves, have become nearly synonymous with his Pop reincarnations of them.

As a counter to the seeming unapproachability of “fine art,” Warhol selected the world of mass manufacturing, commercial art, consumer products, and celebrity culture as the foundation for his own art. Taking off from his background as a commercial illustrator, Warhol decided to bridge the realms of “high” and “low” art by using subject matter that every person in America could relate to and recognize no matter their age, race, or class. Everyone has seen a Campbell’s soup can or a Coca-Cola bottle. Everyone can recognize Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley.