The Biography of Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol (Andrew Warhola) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1928. He and his family immigrated from eastern Slovakia in the early 1920s, He grew up during the Great Depression in an urban area in an industrial city. At the age of 6, he became fascinated with art, but due to illness, he was confined to bed. His mother and 2 brothers would keep him entertained by teaching Andy how to draw, trace and print images. His love for art continued thru childhood too. At age 16 he graduated from Schenley High School in 1945. And in 1942 when his father died, his wish was that Andy would further his education career. In which he did, he was the first member of his family to go beyond high school. During his college days, he was casual drop the ‘a’ in his name to make it sound cooler. To push the point he went as far as signing his artwork without the ‘a’.

In the early 1960s, Andy began to experiment with reproductions based on ads, newspaper headlines and other mass-produced images based on American Culture. Some examples Campbell’s soup cans and Coca-Cola bottles, In early 1962, he began the series of portraits of Marilyn Monroe, other people such as Jackie Kennedy and Elvis Presley were included in his series of portraits. And in 1963 he began to experiment with films, he created a studio known as Factory, this place became a meeting place for young artists, actors, and musicians. During the 1970s and 80s he was a well international famous artist and throughout the world exhibts of his art were put up.

Warhol died in Manhattan New York early in the morning in February 1987 at the age of 58. He was making a good recovery from gallbladder surgery before dying in his sleep froma sudden post-operative irregular heartbeat. Before his diagnosis and operation, Warhol was having recurring problems being checked, including he was afraid to enter hospitals and see doctors. His family sued the hospital for improper care, stating that the arrhythmia was caused by improper care and water intoxication, the case was quickly settled and his family received a sum of money. Looking at the timeline of Warhol’s health, it was suspected that he died from a “routine” surgery, but considering his age, family history of gallbladder problems, a previous gunshot wound, and his recent medical state before the surgery, the potential risk of death following the surgery appeared to be significant. Warhol’s body was buried next to his mother and father and a mmorial service was held in Manhattan for him on April 1, 1987.