How did shy, sickly young Andy Warhola grow up to become Andy Warhol, one of the most brazen and influential figures on the art and popular culture scene in the 1960s and '70s? Another astute artist biography from Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan looks at Warhol’s life and reveals more consistency than contradiction beneath the surface. Warhol certainly had an edgy, provocative approach to both art and life, with paintings that turned cultural figures—from soup cans to movie stars—into iconographic art, forays into experimental film, and his role as figurehead of the Factory, where the drug and counterculture thrived. Despite all this, it seems Warhol was never far removed from the insecure boy he once was. A master of turning life into art, Warhol thrived on observation as much (perhaps more) than attention and was always looking for ways to make art out of other people’s lives instead of his own (although he clearly carefully crafted his own public persona, often for shock effect). Greenberg and Jordan’s honest, straightforward treatment is a fascinating look at both the public and carefully guarded, unexpectedly tame and bittersweet private life of a major twentieth-century artist who was a cultural icon in his own right. (Ages 14–18)

“IN THE FUTURE EVERYBODY will be world famous for 15 minutes.”

The Campbell’s Soup Cans. The Marilyns. The Electric Chairs. The Flowers. The work created by Andy Warhol elevated everyday images to art, ensuring Warhol a fame that has far outlasted the 15 minutes he predicted for everyone else. His very name is synonymous with the 1960s American art movement known as Pop.

But Warhol’s oeuvre was the sum of many parts. He not only produced iconic art that blended high and popular culture; he also made controversial films, starring his entourage of the beautiful and outrageous; he launched Interview, a slick magazine that continues to sell today; and he reveled in leading the vanguard of New York’s hipster lifestyle. The Factory, Warhol’s studio and den of social happenings, was the place to be.

Who would have predicted that this eccentric boy, the Pittsburgh-bred son of Eastern European immigrants, would catapult himself into media superstardom? Warhol’s rise, from poverty to wealth, from obscurity to status as a Pop icon, is an absorbing tale—one in which the American dream of fame and fortune is played out in all of its success and its excess. No artist of the late 20th century took the pulse of his time—and ours—better than Andy Warhol.

Praise for Vincent van Gogh: Portrait of an Artist:

“This outstanding, well-researched biography is fascinating reading.”—School Library Journal, Starred

“Readers will see not just the man but also the paintings anew.”—The Bulletin, Starred

“An exceptional biography that reveals the humanity behind the myth.”—Booklist, Starred

A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book

An ALA Notable Book