Andy Warhol

Born on August 6, 1928, in Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania, Andy Warhol was a
successful magazine and ad illustrator
who became a leading artist of the 1960s
Pop Art movement. He ventured into a
wide variety of art forms, including
performance art, filmmaking, video
installations and writing, and
controversially blurred the lines between
fine art and mainstream aesthetics.
Born Andrew Warhola on August 6, 1928,
in the neighborhood of Oakland in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Andy Warhol's
parents were Slovakian immigrants. His
father, Ondrej Warhola, was a
construction worker, while his mother,
Julia Warhola, was an embroiderer. They
were devout Catholics who attended
mass regularly, and maintained much of
their Slovakian culture and heritage while
living in one of Pittsburgh's Eastern
European ethnic enclaves.
Warhol attended Holmes Elementary
school and took the free art classes
offered at the Carnegie Institute (now the
Carnegie Museum of Art) in Pittsburgh.

In the late 1950s, Warhol began devoting

more attention to painting, and in 1961,

he debuted the concept of "pop art"

paintings that focused on mass-produced
commercial goods. In 1962, he exhibited
the now-iconic paintings of Campbell's
soup cans. These small canvas works of
everyday consumer products created a
major stir in the art world, bringing both
Warhol and pop art into the national
spotlight for the first time.
British artist Richard Hamilton described
pop art as "popular, transient,
expendable, low cost, mass-produced,
young, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamorous,
big business."

Warhol's other famous pop paintings

depicted Coca-cola bottles, vacuum
cleaners and hamburgers. He also
painted celebrity portraits in vivid and
garish colors; his most famous subjects
include Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor,
Mick Jagger and Mao Zedong. As these
portraits gained fame and notoriety,
Warhol began to receive hundreds of
commissions for portraits from socialites
and celebrities. His portrait " Eight
Elvises" eventually resold for $100
million in 2008, making it one of the most
valuable paintings in world history.
In 1964, Warhol opened his own art
studio, a large silver-painted warehouse
known simply as "The Factory." The

Factory quickly became one of New York

City's premier cultural hotspots, a scene
of lavish parties that were attended by
the city's wealthiest socialites and

celebrities. Warhol died on February 22,

1987, in New York City at the age of 58.

http://www.biography.com/
people/andy-warhol-9523875?page=1
A. Find where the base verb is used in the reading selection. After
studying the definitions, use the word bank below to write in a synonym
for each verb. The first one is done for you
verb
how is it
definition
Write in the
used in the
synonym
selection?
1. venture
ventured
to risk something possibly
B. risk or try
dangerous or to begin something
new in business
2. maintain
to keep something working in the
same way
3. become
to change or develop into
something else
4. blur
to make something fuzzy or not
clear
5. attend
go somewhere or to an event
(often regularly)
6. debut
to unveil something for the first
time
7. depict
to show something in a picture
form
8. devote
to commit your whole self to
something because you love it
A. dedicate
D. turn into
G. illustrate

B. risk or try
E. smudge
H. present

C. continue
F. be somewhere

B. Use the word bank on the next page to match these definitions. The first
one is done for you.
1. a person who draws pictures for a book or advertisement
2. bright, clashing and gaudy colors
3. to do something in a way that people dont agree with and talk
about
4. luxurious and extravagant
5. first or superior
6. being well-known, famous for something
7. very religious, committed to your religion
8. a distinct group within a larger community

illustrator

9. lots of different types of something

10.
to manufacture large numbers of the same thing
11.
to mix, or to cause a commotion or reaction
12.
to be pleasing or beautiful to the eye
13.
to ask someone to make something specifically for you, custom,
OR money that you make from sales
14.
using and saying words in a clever funny way
15.
slang term for a very popular nightclub or place to go
16.
an image or idea that becomes a famous symbol of someone or
something
illustrator
devout
iconic
mass-produced
lavish

variety
enclaves
hotspots
premier

controversially
notoriety
stir
commissions
witty

garish

C. Answer the comprehension questions.

1. What are some varieties of art forms that Andy used?
______________________________________________________________________________
2. What ethnicity were Andys parents? Where they born here in the US?
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Who are some famous celebrities that Andy Warhol painted?
______________________________________________________________________________
4. What are some adjective that would describe pop art?
______________________________________________________________________________
5. What was The Factory? Did they make anything in The Factory?
______________________________________________________________________________
6. In your opinion, what was different about Andy Warhols art than previous artists
before his time?
______________________________________________________________________________
D. Find a related word in the reading selection
word

definition

Write in the related

word

1. eventual

happening at a later time, a result

2. success
3. social

something that turns out well in

terms of fame, power or money
relating to the interaction of people

4. gimmick

something to grab your attention

5. exhibit

to show or display art

6. embroider

decorative sewing in patterns or

initials
prosperity, riches

7. wealth
8. install

to connect or position something to

use

eventually