“The only way - the best way - to get to know Warhol is through the medium of photography across the last decade of his life. You see his travels, his studio, his art-making process, his social life - it’s literally his diary in photographs.”
- Jim Hedges
Andy Warhol’s Pop Art defined an era — Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Coca-Cola — but his camera tells the truest story of the man himself. From the late 1950s onward, Warhol carried a camera everywhere, first a Polaroid and later a 35mm, documenting friends, celebrities, artists, travels, and obsessions. He liked to refer to his camera as “his date.” The images he captured became the source material for his paintings and silkscreens, and the most intimate record of his daily life.
As Warhol expert Jim Hedges explains, “The only way — the best way — to get to know Warhol is through the medium of photography across the last decade of his life. You see his travels, his studio, his art-making process, his social life - it’s literally his diary in photographs.”
Unlike Warhol’s editioned prints (most done in 250 or more impressions), these photographs are unique works — each one a unique object. These photographs were not editioned. They are original works that Andy specifically selected to be printed during his lifetime. The negatives and contact sheets for these silver gelatin images are archived at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University and will never be printed again.
From Jane Fonda preparing in the Factory makeup chair, to Bruce Springsteen backstage, to Grace Jones and Jerry Hall at the height of their glamour, these photographs reveal Warhol’s most personal way of seeing. They also tie directly to Aspen’s cultural history — Warhol visited frequently in the 1980s, photographing Elizabeth “Pussy” Paepcke and mingling with Jane Fonda, Jack Nicholson, and Michael Douglas in the mountains.
“When you look at these pictures, you are looking at the basis of American Pop Art and pop history together with Andy’s many ties to Aspen’s robust artistic legacy.” - Jim Hedges