One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Andy Warhol was a prominent figure in the pop art movement of the 1960’s.

1. Andrew Warhola was born August 6th 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His parents emmigrated from Mikova (an area known today as Slovakia) He is the youngest of three boys..

2. Warhol suffered from a nervous system disease, Sydenham’s chore, in the 3rd grade. This causes involuntary jerking movements of he face, hands and feet.

3. His father died when he was 13 years old. However, he managed to save enough money to pay for Andy to attend his first two years of of college.

4. From a young age, Warhol was obsessed with comics, celebrities and Hollywood culture. He collected numerous pictures of movie stars in a scrapbook he held in his possession until his death in 1987. The scrapbook included a signed photograph of Shirley Temple.

5. Initially, Warhol wanted to study Art Education and become a teacher. He ended up studying commercial art from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, graduating in 1949 with a Bachelors of Fine Arts

6. Warhol In the late 1950’s, Warhol began devoting himself to painting. His center of interest was on mass-produced goods, including Campbell’s soup cans and Marilyn Monroe. He was an initiating force in the pop rt movement.

7. In 1963, Warhol started producing films. Some of his erotic works include Kiss, Blowjob and Pork

8. His most expensive work of art, Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster), auctioned for 105.4 million dollars in 2013.

9. Some of his first drawings submitted to a fine art gallery, homoerotic sketches of male nudes,  were denied for being too openly gay.

10. In 1968, Andy Warhol was shot by feminist extremist Valerie Solanas. He was hospitalized for two months, enduring several surgeries. He never fully recovered and, in the end, had to wear a surgical corset the remainder of his life

11. Jed Johnson had a 12 year relationship with Warhol. He was originally hired to sweep the floors of The Factory, located in the Decker Building. He went on to become a well known interior designer, even designing the town home he shared with Warhol for a period of time.

12. Warhol died suddenly in his sleep, in 1987, due to irregular heartbeat after gallbladder surgery. The family sued the hospital for improper care, including water intoxication, and received and undisclosed amount of money.

13. You can visit the burial site of Andy Warhol, in Pittsburgh, PA, at St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery.

14. Warhol regularly volunteered his time at homeless shelters in New York.

15. Warhol has been featured in numerous movies. These include Men in Black 3, where is known as Agent W, The Love Boat, featuring the real Andy himself, The Doors and Factory Girl (2006).

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