Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol (1928–1987) was the central figure of American Pop Art — the movement that elevated commercial imagery (Campbell's Soup cans, Coca-Cola bottles, celebrity photographs) to fine art status. His Factory (a silver-walled New York studio) was the hub of 1960s–70s avant-garde art, film, and celebrity culture, attracting artists, musicians, and socialites. Warhol's 1964 silk-screens of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley, his Mao portraits, and his film 'Chelsea Girls' are major works of 20th-century art. He survived an assassination attempt in 1968 when radical feminist Valerie Solanas shot him. His aphorism 'In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes' predicted social media with extraordinary prescience.