Andy Warhol is most famous for his Factory antics, Campbell’s Soup cans, Brillo boxes, and off-register prints of Marilyn Monroe and other celebrities. But the pop artist also had a lifelong fascination with publishing and the art of the book. The Morgan Library & Museum, in collaboration with the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, is hosting the first exhibition in New York City devoted solely to Warhol’s career as a book artist.
Through May 15, the retrospective Warhol by the Book will feature more than 130 objects from Warhol’s days as a student, his early years in NYC as a commercial artist and self-publisher, and more. Items of special interest include Warhol’s only surviving book project from the 1940s; drawings, screen prints, photographs, self-published books, children’s books, photography books, text-based books, unique books, archival material; and his much-sought-after dust jacket designs. The works span Warhol’s collaborations in advertising and fashion to commercial illustration.
“For close to forty years, books were a touchstone for Warhol — a medium to which he returned again and again as a platform for his unparalleled creativity. He contributed to more than eighty projects for books and left traces behind of dozens of others that were never realized,” writes the museum.
Preview Warhol by the Book in our gallery.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), Andy Warhol, Stockholm: Moderna Museet, 1968. Private Collection. Photography by Graham S. Haber, 2015. © 2016 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), In the Bottom of My Garden, ca. 1956. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Contribution the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2016 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), Illustration for Leroy the Mexican Jumping Bean, 1948–1949, Ink, tempera, and graphite on board. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2016 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), Three More Novels of Ronald Firbank: Vainglory; Inclinations; Caprice by Ronald Firbank, New York: New Directions, 1951. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Museum Purchase. © 2016 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), Love Is a Pink Cake, ca. 1953. The Morgan Library & Museum, Purchased on the Gordon N. Ray Fund. © 2016 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), A Gold Book, 1957. Williams College Museum of Art; Gift of Richard F. Holmes, Classof 1946. © 2016 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Edward Wallowitch (1932–1981), Young Man Smoking a Cigarette, ca. 1956, Gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © Estate of Edward Wallowitch.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), Horoscopes for the Cocktail Hour, ca. 1961, Ink, stamped ink, Dr. Martin’s aniline dye, and collage on sketchbook paper. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2016 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), Andy Warhol’s Index (Book), New York: Random House; A Black Star book, 1967. The Morgan Library & Museum; Purchased on the Gordon N. Ray Fund. Photography by Graham S. Haber, 2015. © 2016 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), Marilyn, 1967, Screen print on paper. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Museum Loan, Private Collection. © 2016 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), Flash – November 22, 1963, Briarcliff Manor, NY: Racolin Press, 1968. Spencer Collection, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. © 2016 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), A: A Novel, New York: Grove Press, 1968, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Gift of Jay Reeg. © 2016 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), Andy Warhol’s Exposures, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1979, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.. © 2016 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), “So Sweet,” 1950s, Ink, stamped ink, graphite, and Dr. Martin’s aniline dye on paper. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2016 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.