Andy Warhol 1948 - 1960

Timothy Taylor Gallery is delighted to announce a rare opportunity to view early works on paper by Andy Warhol, one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century.
 
Interpreted by independent curator, Steven Bluttal, this exhibition presents a seldom-seen body of work, which predates Warhol’s graduation from Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, and spans the artist’s first decade in New York City. Drawing upon his unparalleled experience as a former curator of the Estate of Andy Warhol, Bluttal presents an unusual juxtaposition of important works, as unique and insightful as it is visually compelling.
 
The exhibition explores the symbiotic relationship between Warhol’s commercial portfolio and his own private expression, drawing together a selection of work which, collectively, provides an overview of the period in which the artist began to isolate and develop the methods and the subject matter that would later become identifiably ‘Andy Warhol’.
 
Warhol’s private drawings, including still life, intimate portraiture, and documentation of his travels, are contextualised by their exhibition alongside studies for his commercial work of the same period, for clients including Harper’s Bazaar, Doubleday (now Random House), Bourgois, Moss Rose and I. Miller. Extracts from his privately printed, hand coloured books, Wild Raspberries and 25 Cats Name Sam, will also be included.
 
The exhibition also charts the development of Warhol’s use of media, from his first signature aesthetic, the ‘blotted-line technique’, to his use of gold leaf, spray-paint, intricate collage, ballpoint pen, Aniline dye and tempera.
 
This incomparable collection provides a comprehensive overview of Andy Warhol’s development from 1948 to 1960, and an invaluable context for his later works. A fully illustrated catalogue will be available.
 
Steven Bluttal is an independent curator, archivist and photography editor, and is based in New York. He is a former curator of the Estate of Andy Warhol, and of the Mies van der Rohe Archive at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Bluttal was the Editor of Halston and Photographs of Ron Gaella, published by Phaidon Press and Greybull Press respectively, and the Photo Editor of Andy Warhol “GIANT” Size, also published by Phaidon.