Andy Warhol American, 1928-1987

Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh after his parents emigrated from Ruthenia, a region now in the Slovak Republic. He studied design at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh and moved to New York in 1949 to work as a commercial illustrator. In the early 1960s, he quickly found fame for his iconic screen-printed paintings of soup cans and celebrities.

Warhol was one of the most influential artists of the second half of the 20th century, creating some of the most recognisable images ever produced. He ventured into a wide variety of art forms, including performance art, filmmaking, video installations and writing, blurring the lines between fine art and mainstream aesthetics. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement that flourished during the 1960s.

Warhol died unexpectedly in 1987, due to complications following a routine operation.