Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again

Oct 20, 2019–Jan 26, 2020

Exhibition

A penetrating and panoramic look at an artist whose “15 minutes” endure

Regenstein Hall
Closed

Regenstein Hall
Closed

This major retrospective—the first to be organized by a US institution in 30 years—builds on the wealth of new research, scholarship, and perspectives that has emerged since Andy Warhol’s early death at age 58 in 1987. More than 400 works offer a new view of the beloved and iconic American Pop artist, not only illuminating the breadth, depth, and interconnectedness of Warhol’s production across the entirety of his career but also highlighting the ways that he anticipated the issues, effects, and pace of our current digital age.

Warhol gained fame in the 1960s for his Pop masterpieces, widely known and reproduced works that often eclipse his equally significant late work as well as his crucial beginnings in the commercial art world. This exhibition brings together all aspects and periods of his varied and prolific career and includes paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, videos, archival and printed material, installation, films, and media works. By showcasing the full continuum of Warhol’s work, rather than focusing on a certain period, this presentation demonstrates that the artist didn’t slow down after surviving the assassination attempt that nearly took his life in 1968 but entered into a period of intense experimentation.

Warhol, with obvious self-deprecation, described his philosophy as spanning from A to B. As this exhibition decidedly proves, his thinking and artistic production ranged well beyond that, but his true genius lies in his ability to identify cultural patterns and to use repetition, distortion, and recycled images in a way that challenges our faith in images and questions the meaning of our cultural icons.

This exhibition was organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Artwork

Warhol was an amazingly prolific artist. Chart his career and some of the themes he explored in the image galleries below.

Early Work

After graduating from what is now known as Carnegie Mellon University, Warhol began his professional career as a commercial illustrator. At the same time he was making his own art: drawings of fanciful shoes, friends, and intimate subjects.

This watercolor painting is a departure from Warhols recognizable Pop style, as it is an earlier work. The watercolor depicts a typical living room, empty of people. Three chairs and a couch with a striped cover sit on a purple and red rug next to a brick fireplace. — *Living Room*, about 1948

Collection of the Paul Warhola family

A black-and-white drawing of a pair of legs in elegant high heels. — *Untitled (Pair of Legs in High Heels)*, about 1955

Private collection

A black-and-white line drawing that is an unidentified portrait of one of Warhol's friends. — Unidentified Male Portrait, about 1952

Collection of Marc Jacobs

Diana Vreeland, about 1956

Private collection

A black-and-white line drawing of two feet with a variety of seashells. — *Feet with Sea Shells*, 1960

The Art Institute of Chicago, Muriel Newman Fund

A black-and-white line drawing of two feet and a Campbell's soup can. The left foot rests playfully on the top of the soup can. — *Feet and Campbell’s Soup Can*, about 1961

The Art Institute of Chicago; Margaret Fisher Endowment

Sixties Pop

In the early 1960s, Warhol began to look to the commercial world for inspiration—reproducing images from advertisements, comic books, and newspapers in a distinctly hand-done manner. He also began to experiment with screenprinting photos on canvas, a technique he would use throughout his career.

In this work, Superman puts out a forest fire—with his breath. Dressed in a blue and red suit, Superman flies above billowing clouds of smoke, a big puff of air emitting from his mouth. A thought bubble above his head reads: "Good! A mighty puff of my super-breath extinguished the forest fire!" — *Superman*, 1961

Private collection. Superman © and ™ DC Comics, courtesy DC Comics. All rights reserved

Before and After [4], 1962

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from Charles Simon, 71.226

A silkscreen print of the image of a Coca-Cola bottle in green, repeated in 7 horizontal rows. — *Green Coca-Cola Bottles*, 1962

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Friends of the Whitney Museum of American Art, 68.25

A bright and graphic silkscreen print of four flowers (two pink and two orange) on a neon green background. — *Flowers*, 1964

The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of Edlis Neeson Collection

A black-and-white silkscreen print of a mugshot. — *Most Wanted Men No. 6, Thomas Francis C.*, 1964

The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Collection

Self-Portraits

Warhol was often his own subject. Throughout his career, he produced dozens of self-portraits.

A black-and-white drawing that is a self-portrait done by Andy Warhol. In this early work, Warhol stands with his arms crossed, wearing a suit jacket, a tie, and glasses. — *Self-Portrait*, 1948

Janet and Craig Duchossois Collection

A silkscreen self-portrait. Warhol appears in a 2x2 grid, wearing sunglasses, a tie, and a trench coat. Each square in the grid is a different shade of blue. — *Self-Portrait*, 1963–64

Cingilli Collection

Im012116 Int Press — *Self-Portrait*, 1964

The Art Institute of Chicago; gift of Edlis Neeson Collection

A silkscreen self-portrait of Andy Warhol. Warhol hold his chin in his hand in a contemplative pose. A close-up of his face is rendered in a graphic style in pink and green, on a blue background. — *Self-Portrait*, 1966

The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of Edlis Neeson Collection

A silkscreen self-portrait by Andy Warhol. Warhol's face floats on a dark black background. His face is a shade of light, neon green that seems to glow, and his hair sticks out from his head. — *Self-Portrait*, 1986

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; gift, Anne and Anthony d’Offay in honor of Thomas Krens, 1992 92.4033

Celebrity

Warhol was fascinated with the idea of celebrity in all its various forms—from movie stars and athletes to political figures and rock stars.

A silkscreen portrait of the actress Elizabeth Taylor. The portrait is a close-up of Taylor's face, which floats on a pale green background. Taylor face is graphic and colorful. Her skin is a pale pink, her lips are bright red, her eye makeup is teal, and her hair is jet black. — *Liz #3, [Early Colored Liz]*, 1963

The Stefan T. Edlis collection, partial and promised gift to the Art Institute of Chicago. Rights of Publicity and Persona Rights: House of Taylor - The Elizabeth Taylor Companies

A black-and-white silkscreen of Elvis Presley. In this image, based on a still from a movie, Elvis looks into the camera, and points a gun that he holds in his right hand. Elvis's image is repeated three times, left to right. — *Triple Elvis [Ferus Type]*, 1963

The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Elvis Presley™; Rights of Publicity and Persona Rights: Elvis Presley Enterprises, LLC. elvis.com

An iconic silkscreen portrait of Marilyn Monroe.On a bright orange background, Marilyn is portrayed with bright, almost garish makeup. Her skin is pale pink, her lips are red, her eye shadow is bright blue, and her hair is bright yellow. — *Shot Orange Marilyn*, 1964

Private collection

An iconic silkscreen portrait of the Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong. This work is one of a series of Mao portraits by Warhol, and the work is nearly a towering 15 feet tall. Mao is rendered in Warhol's recognizable Pop style, with bright colors and a graphic feel. — *Mao*, 1972

The Art Institute of Chicago; Mr. and Mrs. Frank G. Logan Purchase Prize and Wilson L. Mead funds

A colorful and bright silkscreen portrait of Marsha P. Johnson, American gay liberation activist and self-identified drag queen. — *Ladies and Gentlemen (Marsha P. Johnson)*, 1975

Museum Brandhorst, Munich

A silkscreen portrait of Muhammad Ali. Ali looks directly into the camera. The background is dark blue. — *Muhammad Ali*, 1977

University of Maryland Art Gallery, College Park; gift of The Frederick Weisman Company, 1982.1.6. Muhammad Ali™; Rights of Publicity and Persona Rights: ABG Muhammad Ali Enterprises LLC

A silkscreen print of Liza Minelli. Her head floats in the frame on a red background. Her shoulders are bare, and her makeup graphic and almost garish—red lipstick, green eyeshadow, and blue in her hair. — *Liza Minnelli*, 1978

Private collection

A silkscreen print portrait of Debbie Harry. Harry's hair is a garish yellow that is the sam as the background. She wears red lipstick and pink eye makeup, and looks directly into the camera. — *Debbie Harry*, 1980

Collection of Deborah Harry

Death and Disaster

In the mid-1960s Warhol produced a “Death and Disaster” series that focused on images of car crashes, race riots, electric chairs, and a grieving Jacqueline Kennedy. He returned to darker themes again in the 70s and 80s with canvases focused on skulls and guns.

A silkscreen of an image of an electric chair repeated in a grid. The electric chair is rendered in a lavender hue. — *Lavender Disaster*, 1963

The Menil Collection, Houston

For this silkscreen print, Andy Warhol appropriated newspaper photographs of Jacqueline Kennedy for a series of dramatic paintings in which he depicted the moments before and after the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy. There are three rows of "Jackies," nine in total. The top row shows Jackie before the assassination, the second row shows Jackie during her husband's duneral procession, and in the bottom row is Jackie's grief-stricken face. — *Nine Jackies*, 1964

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of The American Contemporary Art Foundation, Inc. Leonard A. Lauder, President

Im009950 Press — *Big Electric Chair*, 1967–68

The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of Edlis Neeson Collection

A silkscreen print of a blue skull on a background divided horizontally by dark green on the bottom and lighter, sea green on the top. The skull is punctuated by a splash of bright yellow in the background. — *Skull*, 1976

Collection of Larry Gagosian

A silkscreen print of a gun. The gun is outlined in black overlayed with a bright red, and the image appears to float on a white background. — *Gun*, 1981–82

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; gift of Vicki and Kent Logan

Later work

After surviving an assassination attempt in June of 1968, Warhol ventured even further into experimental new media, collaborated with a younger generation of artists like like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, and even explored abstraction.

A black-and-white painting inspired by the famous Rorscach ink blots. — *Rorschach*, 1984

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Contemporary Painting and Sculpture Committee, the John I. H. Baur Purchase Fund, the Wilfred P. and Rose J. Cohen Purchase Fund, Mrs. Melva Bucksbaum, and Linda and Harry Macklowe, 96.279

This painting is from a series of works inspired by the famous Rorschach inkblots. In this iteration, Warhol created the ink blot with shimmering gold paint. — *Rorschach*, 1984

The Brant Foundation, Greenwich, CT

A collaboration between Basquiat and Warhol, this brightly hued painting appears collage-like, with various letters, shapes, colors, numbers, faces, and small drawings. — *Paramount*, 1984–85

Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Private collection. © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York

A collaboration between Warhol and Basquiat, this bright painting is dominated by a red background. On top of the background is a collection of familiar images, line drawings, shapes, and symbols, including a yellow skull and skeleton-like figure, grocery store signs, and a red pretzel, among many other — *Third Eye*, 1985

Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. Bischofberger Collection, Männedorf-Zurich, Switzerland. © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York

Sponsors

Leadership support of Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again is provided by

Bank of America is the National Tour Sponsor.

Major support for the Chicago presentation has been made possible by Caryn and King Harris, The Harris Family Foundation.

The Auxiliary Board of the Art Institute of Chicago is the Lead Affiliate Sponsor.

Additional funding is contributed by the Shure Charitable Trust, Maureen and Edward Byron Smith Jr. Family Endowment Fund, Constance and David Coolidge, Robert J. Buford, Penelope and Robert Steiner, William and Robin Downe, Cairy and Thomas Brown, Margot Levin Schiff and the Harold Schiff Foundation, Vicki and Bill Hood, and Lauren G. Robishaw.

Members of the Exhibitions Trust provide annual leadership support for the museum’s operations, including exhibition development, conservation and collection care, and educational programming. The Exhibitions Trust includes an anonymous donor; Neil Bluhm and the Bluhm Family Charitable Foundation; Jay Franke and David Herro; Kenneth Griffin; Caryn and King Harris, The Harris Family Foundation; Karen Gray-Krehbiel and John Krehbiel, Jr.; Robert M. and Diane v.S. Levy; Ann and Samuel M. Mencoff; Sylvia Neil and Dan Fischel; Anne and Chris Reyes; Cari and Michael J. Sacks; and the Earl and Brenda Shapiro Foundation.

This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Official Airline of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Additional support is provided by the Illinois Office of Tourism.

Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again