Andy Warhol (1928 to 1987) was a leading figure of Pop art. Born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh to Slovak parents, he studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology and moved to New York in 1949. He first made his name as a commercial illustrator before turning to fine art in the early 1960s.
Warhol drew on everyday culture, using images from adverts, celebrity press, and supermarket shelves. His Campbell’s Soup Cans and Marilyn Monroe series made him widely known. He embraced screen printing to produce repeated images with small variations, a method that reflected his interest in fame, consumerism, and the look of mass media.
His studio, the Factory, became a hub for artists, musicians, and film makers. He produced experimental films, worked with the Velvet Underground, and later appeared on television. After surviving a shooting in 1968, he continued to explore portraits, commissioned works, and large series such as Shadows. Warhol died in New York in 1987, leaving a lasting influence on contemporary art and culture.