The Prints of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again)

Hunter Museum of American Art

Chattanooga, TN

(423) 267-0968

Left: original museum building containing historic collection, Right: extension wing housing contemporary collection and temporary exhibitions. Photos by John Hazeltine.

The Prints of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again)

The Prints of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again) provides an overview of the artist's printmaking career. The exhibition is organized by Margery King, Associate Curator of the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Prints of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again) will appear from May 1 - July 11, 1999.

In the 1960's Warhol came to prominence as part of the Pop Art movement which looked at objects from popular culture - comics, billboard advertisements and soup cans, for instance - as the subject matter for art. Although the paintings were first met with derision by many critics and viewers, they soon came to be seen as a comment on our consumer oriented society. Left: Flowers, 1964, offset lithograph on paper, 23 1/8 x 23 1/8 inches, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, © 1999 AWF, photo by Richard Stoner; lower right: Cow, screenprint on wallpaper, 45 1/2 inches x 29 3/4 inches, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, © 1999 AWF, photo by Richard Stoner

Andy Warhol worked for over a decade as a successful commercial artist in New York before he became recognized as a painter. His paintings of Campbell's soup cans brought him to the attention of the art world in 1962. From that time until his death in 1987, Warhol displayed an uncanny ability to choose people or objects form American Society which, no matter how seemingly trivial, wielded a powerful impact on his audience. During the seventies he began to spend much of his time creating portraits of the "Beautiful People." Wealthy industrialists, movie stars and athletes all sat for portraits. Warhol was also fascinated with film making and produced a body of work which holds a significant place in the history of avant-garde film.

Andy Warhol also became as recognizable as his artwork. He attended all the right parties, endorsed numerous commercial products and made bit appearances on a variety of television shows. Among the 57 prints in this exhibition are some of Warhol's most famous works: Marilyn Monroe, Campbell 's Soup Cans, Mao and Shoes. The title for the exhibition, by the way, is a play on Warhol's 1975 book, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again).

For further biographical information on the artist cited above please see America's Distinguished Artists, a national registry of historic artists.

rev. 10/18/10

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