Andy Warhol was born August 6, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was born at the time of the famous Wall Street Crash (1929) and the Great Depression. Like millions of other families, Andy's father could not find work and his early childhood was very difficult and deprived. After several years his family's financial situation improved and able to attend a commercial design course at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Institute of Technology. Although he was very shy and had a strong fear of failure, he did very well there.
In 1949, Andy moved to New York. He quickly became a successful and highly paid commercial artist in the 1950's but desperately wished for fame as a fine artist. He was unsuccessful in his efforts and sold few exhibits. Andy became depressed and believed that the 'fine art world' had rejected his art as old fashioned and irrelevant. Needing new ideas to help boost his creativity, Andy got several ideas from a his friend Muriel Latow.
English: Andy Warhol
autograph and sketch by Andy Warhol
Jimmy Carter with Andy Warhol during a reception f...Her advice was to paint what he loved most such as money or what everybody would recognize; soup cans and coke bottles. Andy expanded on these ideas and his paintings of the early 60's reflected his progress as a Pop artist. Soon he gained the financial success and fame he had longed for.
During his career, Andy used several different methods and media for producing his art. He was able to create the same subject in different media and by different methods. Before 1962 he used paint (acrylic or oil) and stencil for his subjects. In 1964, Andy began silk-screening images on wooden boxes. He became well known for his boxed commodities, soapboxes, and Brillo pad box sculptures.
By 1982, Andy had begun to lose some of his creative energy. His lack of direction was evident through...