Teachers Notes

Andy Warhol: Early DrawingsThe New Art Gallery Walsall15 May-5 July 2009

Artist: Andy Warhol, 1928-1987 Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania US

Title: Early Drawings

Medium: Pen & Ink, ink wash, dye on paper

Andy Warhol is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. He is seen as one of the leaders in the pop art movement. He is well known for his silk screen prints of Campbell soup cans and famous movie stars like Marilyn Monroe.

Content: This exhibition focuses on his early drawings dating from the 1950’s to 1962.

The exhibition is divided into 3 themed rooms:

Main room: Commercial workWarhol was one of the most successful commercial illustrations of his time. Working for department stores, magazines and newspapers including Glamour, Tiffany’s and Harper’s Bazaar. By the end of 1987 he had become one of New York’s highest paid illustrators earning approximately $100,000 a year.

First room to the left: Warhol as an ArtistThese works show Warhol striving to be accepted as a fine artist.

Second room to the left: Warhol’s personal drawings.Warhols’ private drawings here show much more about his own life away from the commercial front.

Context: Influences:

ReligionWarhol was very religious and would regularly attend his local Byzantine Catholic churchwhere he would be inspired by motifs of cherubs, gold, doves etc. He used many of thesemotifs and symbols in his work.

Family LifeWarhol’s family and particularly his mother had a huge influence in his life.Many of the works were coloured in and signed by his mother. Their mutual love of cats lead them to create an award winning book of cat illustrations.

Celebrity & FashionWarhol once said that if he died he “wanted to come back as a ring on Elizabeth Taylor’s finger.” Both his commercial and personal works have revolved around glamour, and idolizing the famous. He was known to have a particular fascination with shoes.

Andy Warhol, Tondo (Butterflies), 1955Pen and ink, graphite and dye on paper, 660 x 530mmARTIST ROOMS Tate and National Galleries of Scotland. Acquired jointly through The d’Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and The Art Fund 2008. © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / DACS, London 2009.

Technique:

The Blotted Line techniqueMany of the drawings on display show Warhol’s blotted line technique. Blotted line combines drawing with very basic printmaking. Warhol began by copying a line drawing on a piece of non-absorbent paper, such as tracing paper. Then bit by bit he would use a fountain pen to go over the drawing and then press the paper onto an absorbent sheet of paper. This would leave a ‘blotted’ print of his drawing.

Warhol often coloured his blotted line drawings with watercolour dyes or applied gold leaf.

StampingIn order for Warhol to meet short deadlines and to produce large amounts of work he would make stamps so that he could re use an image again and again. For example have a look at his butterfly drawings in the main room.

Question ideas for discuss with your class.

• Look at each room in turn. What are the characteristics of the work in each space? Can you understand more about who Warhol was from these?

• How does being in each of the rooms make you feel? • Discuss Warhol’s use of colour. Do you feel there is a relevance to the choice of

colours and how and where they’ve been applied?• Looking at Warhol’s commercial works, why do you think he was so successful?