Best Andy Warhol Exhibits In The U.S.
Photo Courtesy of Simon & SchusterDeborah Davis is the author of The Trip: Andy Warhol's Plastic Fantastic Cross-Country Adventure from sister company Simon & Schuster, which tells the story of a kaleidoscopic road trip Andy Warhol took across America in 1963. Davis recreated Andy's trip and found traces of him everywhere.
When Andy Warhol died in 1987, Time magazine said that he had "flash card recognizability." Most people, from children to retirees, from hipsters to hedge-fund managers – could identify the artist's pale face, distinctive fright wig, and eye-popping paintings of such American icons as the Campbell's Soup can, the Coca Cola bottle, and Marilyn Monroe. But at the time, most people suspected he was a "flash-in-the-can"—that his notoriety would fade with time.
Instead, twenty-eight years later, Andy Warhol is a blazing superstar whose image gets brighter every day. In 2014, he was the top-selling artist at auction for the third year in a row, generating a record-breaking $653 million in sales. Andy is everywhere, and so is his art. If you want to experience the best of Warhol, here's where to go.
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The Andy Warhol Museum
117 Sandusky Street
Pittsburgh, P.A. 15212
Located in Andy's hometown, the newly-hip city of Pittsburgh, the Andy Warhol Museum is an art lover's dream that brings every aspect of the artist and his work to vivid life. Described by one visitor as "an interactive biography," the Warhol offers seven floors of art and ephemera that really POP, including paintings, drawings, films, videos, collectables, and the artist's famous "time capsules," the boxes Andy used to store the colorful detritus of his everyday life.
The Museum Of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street
New York, New York 10019
Whitney Museum Of American Art
99 Gansevoort Street
New York, New York 10014
Metropolitan Museum Of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10028
A selection of Andy Warhol's greatest "hits" can be found in New York City's greatest museums. The Museum of Modern Art offers an outstanding collection of iconic Warhols, including the Campbells' Soup Cans that launched his career, and Gold Marilyn, Andy's luscious homage to Marilyn Monroe. The Whitney Museum (newly reopened in a stunning downtown building designed by celebrated architect Renzo Piano) has Birmingham Race Riot, Before and After, and Green Coca Cola Bottles on view. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has grouped twelve Maos' in a gallery as part of the Costume Institute exhibition, "China: Through the Looking Glass."
Art Institute Of Chicago
111 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60603
Midwesterners rejoice. Thanks to a gift from philanthropists Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeso, the Art Institute of Chicago will unveil ten spectacular Warhols in December, 2015. Twelve Jackies, Mona Lisa Four Times, two Self Portraits, and one Electric Chair, (among other works) add up to an impressive permanent collection that will make the AIC a very POPular destination for Warhol fans.
The Crystal Bridges Museum Of American Art
600 Museum Way
Bentonville, Arizona 72712
600 Museum Way
The College Of Wooster Art Museum
1220 Beall Avenue
Wooster, Ohio 44691
Warhol's oeuvre is so enormous that his works can be found in museum exhibitions and permanent collections throughout the country. The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arizona explores Andy's surprisingly pastoral side in the exhibition, "Warhol's Nature," featuring his Flowers, Clouds, illustrations of butterflies and wildlife, and other manifestations of the natural world. Among his many accomplishments, Andy has been credited with inventing the "selfie." In early 2016, the College of Wooster Art Museum in Ohio will dedicate a show—appropriately called "The Selfie—" to this timely subject, displaying a selection of Warhol's Andy-centric polaroids and drawings.
