A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol is considered one of the most important American artists of the second half of the 20th century. Some of his best-known works include the silkscreen paintings Campbell's Soup Cans and Marilyn Diptych , the experimental films Empire and Chelsea Girls , and the multimedia events known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable โ Born and raised in Pittsburgh , Warhol initially pursued a successful career as a commercial illustrator in the s.
After exhibiting his work in art galleries , he began to receive recognition as an influential and controversial artist in the s. His New York studio, The Factory , became a well-known gathering place that brought together distinguished intellectuals, drag queens , playwrights, Bohemian street people, Hollywood celebrities and wealthy patrons.
In June , Warhol was almost killed by radical feminist Valerie Solanas , who shot him inside his studio. Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions , books, and feature and documentary films.
The Andy Warhol Museum in his native city of Pittsburgh, which holds an extensive permanent collection of art and archives, is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to a single artist. Warhol has been described as the " bellwether of the art market".
His works include some of the most expensive paintings ever sold. Warhol was born on August 6, , in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Warhol's father emigrated to the United States in , and his mother joined him in , after the death of Warhol's grandparents. Warhol's father worked in a coal mine. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church.
