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PUBLIC ART COLLECTION

Photo exhibit offers glimpse into life of Andy Warhol

By Richard Zagrzecki

Photo exhibit offers glimpse into life of Andy Warhol

An exhibition of personal photographs taken by American pop artist Andy Warhol will grace the walls of the Student Center South through the middle of October.

Photo exhibit offers glimpse into life of Andy Warhol

The 29 photos are displayed on the second floor near Room 272. They include a wide range of subjects, from headshots of actress Pia Zadora, tennis player Chris Evert and Princess Caroline of Monaco, to a black-and-white photo of a chair and an aerial view of a street in China.

The photos are a small sampling of the 149 donated to the University of Houston’s Public Art Collection in 2008 by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

“This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see these moments from Warhol’s life. His photographs represent an invaluable resource for University of Houston students, faculty and staff,” said Michael Guidry, curator for the Public Art Collection.

Photo exhibit offers glimpse into life of Andy Warhol

Warhol, who died in 1987 at age 58, was an avant-garde underground artist in the 1960s who went mainstream in the following years, becoming known for his portraits of the rich and famous. For the last decade of his life, he always carried around a simple Polaroid camera or a small point-and-shoot Minox and constantly was taking photos. When he died, he left behind more than 66,000 photographs.

The photos that were gifted to the UH Public Art Collection eight years ago tell many stories about his life, including the places he visited, the people he met and his social network. Some are black and white.

After the exhibit comes to a close in October, all 149 photos will be housed in the M.D. Anderson Library’s Special Collections Department.