WARHOLSTARS.ORG
by Gary Comenas, 2025
Welcome to the world of Warholstars.org. Twenty-five years of research on the artist Andy Warhol, his films, art and superstars.
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Andy Warhol News February - March 2025
Andy Warhol: Portrait of America
February 15, 2025: Andy Warhol: Portrait of America - an Artist Rooms exhibition in conjunction with the Tate (London) and National Galleries of Scotland and supported by the Henry Moore Foundation and the Arts Council of England - will run March 15, 2025 - June 29, 2025 at the MK Gallery in Milton Keynes.
The exhibition is in celebration of the gallery's 25th Anniversary and their first Warhol exhibition since they showed Cars in 2001. According to the press release: Andy Warhol: Portrait of America will feature "over 130 of Warhol's most iconic works including the renowned Marilyn series." They don't indicate which iconic works will be prints and which will be paintings.
Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar by Cynthia Carr (review)
Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar by Cynthia Carr
February 4, 2025: Cynthia Carr's new book on superstar Candy Darling will be available as a paperback in March in the U.S. and in April in the U.K.
Before reading this book I thought I already knew Candy's story from her published diary (edited by her friend Jeremiah Newton), the miniature Candy Darling book published by Hanuman and the bits and pieces I had picked up about her life from Andy Warhol biographies or books about the New York Underground theatrical productions that gave rise to off-off-Broadway. I was wrong.
Carr's book goes into a lot more detail about Candy's upbringing, the events we associate with her and the people she knew... more
Victor Bockris is writing his memoirs
February 2, 2025: A site-user has sent me a link to a radio interview with Victor Bockris. In the interview Bockris is referred to as the "Poet Laureate of the New York Underground." (Did Victor write poetry?) and it is mentioned that Bockris is writing his memoirs.
Bockris' biography of Andy Warhol was one of the first (and possibly the most salacious) of Warhol biographies, but has been criticised for its inaccuracy.
Some blame Bockris' book for giving the impression that Andy Warhol discarded his superstars after using them up, particularly in regard to Edie Sedgwick - often referred to as Warhol's "muse" even though she was only part of the Factory for a couple of years.
It's generally accepted now that Andy Warhol wasn't responsible for Edie's downfall. If anything, he provided her with an opportunity to be rescued. She could have used the exposure she got from her association with Warhol in order to launch a career instead of to continue with her druggy downward spiral. As I note in Edie, A Mystery Solved, Edie had been a patient at two mental hospitals and was already doing drugs by the time she arrived at the Factory. Edie's death was tragic - her performance in the post-Warhol film Ciao! Manhattan magnetic - but her demise wasn't caused by Andy Warhol.
Some 'superstars' or so-called "muses" like Jane Holzer were independently wealthy - Jane was later one of the associate producers of the successful 1985 film, Kiss of the Spider Woman (a later version of the film - based on the musical theatrical version - is released this year.) She never claimed that her time at the Factory was detrimental to her career in real estate.
Like Jane Holzer, Warhol's "muse," Brigid Berlin, was also independently wealthy and Warhol kept in touch with her regularly until his death. She certainly wasn't discarded - Warhol and Vincent Fremont continued to use her in Warhol's video projects. She stayed in touch until his death and was one of the friends who spoke at his funeral.
Other superstars, or "muses," went on to pursue film careers post-Warhol and to paint and write their own works. After her time with Warhol, Mary Woronov had (and continues to have) a successful career as an actress (see IMDB) and as a painter and writer. A documentary is currently in production about her life.
Warhol star, Viva, (another so-called "muse"), also became an author and a painter post-Warhol. (Her daughter is actress Gaby Hoffman.)
Rather than discarding his superstars, Andy Warhol gave them a chance at success - their time under the spotlight - which they might not have had otherwise.
Bockris doesn't discuss his Warhol biography in the interview - he talks mostly about a book that was published at the end of last year - based on conversations with Andy Warhol, William S. Burroughs and Mick Jagger in the "Bunker."
In the first half of the interview he talks mostly about his Mohammad Ali book.
Bockris is also known for the books he wrote on Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. The interviewer mentions the books and they discuss Reed's negative comments about the books.
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Andy Warhol News January 2025
Back to the Future
January 31, 2025: I've decided to return to the past in order to get to the future by bringing back a links page. Remember those? In the early days of the net - before "monetisation" became the key word of the online scene - the primary purpose of websites was to provide information, not profiteering. I've gone back to those times by adding a Links Page of sites from the past that have survived so far and a few sites that hold promise for the future. Just click on Links.
The Marilyn in London's exhibition is not an authorised print
A Marilyn print that is not authorised by the The Warhol Foundation
25 January 2025: The Marilyn Monroe exhibition currently at the Arches London Bridge, in London, is being advertised with an image of Marilyn that is unauthorised by The Andy Warhol Foundation - labelled as an "open edition" Sunday B. Morning print.
The print is also included in the exhibition. Andy Warhol did, of course, paint Marilyn Monroe paintings and produced authorised prints of the Hollywood star, but this is not one of the authorised works.
The Andy Warhol print catalogue raisonné identifies three versions of unauthorised prints:
From Frayda Feldman and Jorg Schellmann, Andy Warhol Prints, A Catalogue Raisonné, Fourth Edition Revised and Expanded by Frayda Feldman and Claudia Defendi (D.A.P. in ass'n with Ronald Feldman Fine Arts Inc./Edition Schellmann, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., 2003, p. 213):
1. Unauthorised Marilyn prints measuring 33 1/4 x 33 1/4"..."which were published in 1970 in different colours from the [authorised] portfolio. Stamped in black on verso, published by Sunday B. Morning and fill in your signature; some prints are inscribed by Warhol, This is not by me. Andy Warhol."
2. Unauthorised Marilyn prints measuring 36 x 36 "in the same colours as the portfolio in an edition of 250 with a stamped number on verso. Stamped in black on verso, published by Sunday B. Morning and fill in your signature."
3. Unauthorised Marilyn prints "which are frequently referred to as the European Artist's Proof Edition; they are dated 1985 and have a stamped signature."
The description for this print indicates an "open edition" (above) which presumably means it's a print that somebody made as one of an indeterminate amount.
The Sunday B. Morning prints continue to proliferate in various forms but they are certainly not authorised as authentic Warhols. Apparently, anyone use the label. But if you attended the exhibition and thought you were looking at an authentic Warhol, you weren't.
There are also unauthorised Sunday B. Morning versions of Andy Warhol's Flower paintings in existence.
From Frayda Feldman and Jorg Schellmann, Andy Warhol Prints, A Catalogue Raisonné, Fourth Edition Revised and Expanded by Frayda Feldman and Claudia Defendi (D.A.P. in ass'n with Ronald Feldman Fine Arts Inc./Edition Schellmann, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., 2003, p. 213 - 214):
There are unauthorised prints, 36 x 36" [of the 1970 Flowers prints] in the same colours as the portfolio in an edition of 250 with a stamped number on verso. Stamped in black on version, published by Sunday B. Morning and fill in your signature."
New Director at The Andy Warhol Museum starts on March 31, 2025
Mario R. Rossero (right), the new Director of The Andy Warhol Museum, dancing with his partner (photographer unknown/Instagram)
The new director of The Andy Warhol Museum (aka The Warhol), Mario R. Rossero, officially begins work on March 31, 2025. See The Andy Warhol Museum press release.
The previous director, Patrick Moore, was head of The Warhol from 2017 until May 2024. As the director, he organized the controversial Andy Warhol exhibition in Saudi Arabia where being gay is illegal. After leaving The Warhol he became the director of a private equity and advisory firm operating between the United Kingdom and the Middle East - North Africa region. He will be advising on the forthcoming London edition of South by Southwest (SXSW) taking place in early June 2025 with numerous events planned for the Shoreditch area of East London involving music, the visual arts and fashion. (Tim Schneider, "Next up for former Warhol Museum director Moore..." (The Art Newspaper, 21 June 2024).
Jean-Michel Basquiat in St. Moritz
Front Cover of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Engadin
The exhibition, Jean-Michel Basquiat. Engadin, opened at Hauser & Wirth, St. Moritz on 14 December 2024 and continues until 29 March 2025. It includes a personal favourite of mine, In Bianco (1983/1984) - a collaboration between Basquiat, Francesco Clemente and Andy Warhol.
I've never understood why more attention hasn't been paid to Warhol's collaborations which came at a pivotal time in his career - when he was turning away from commissioned portraits and doing art that was as innovative as that which he had produced in the 1960s.
The collaborations between Andy Warhol, Basquiat and/or Clemente are artistically outstanding yet generally undervalued at auction. I don't think that art writers or collectors "get" their significance. In Bianco is an excellent example of a collaboration between the three artists.
Jean-Michel's 'solo' paintings in the show are equally brilliant. If you're in St. Moritz, see this show. If you can't see the show, buy the book.
An exhibition catalogue is available.
Dieter Buchhart
Curated by Dieter Buchhart who narrates an excellent short film about the well-hung exhibition on the gallery's website. Beautiful work.
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Andy Warhol News November - December 2024
Paul Morrissey's Funeral (video)
Paul Morrissey's funeral took place at Frank E. Campbell's in New York on Monday, November 4, 2024. Guests included George Abagnalo from Women in Revolt (co-writer of Bad), Geraldine Smith from Paul Morrissey's Flesh who also appeared with Maria Smith in Bad (dir. by Jed Johnson), Susan Blond (from Phoney, Fashion, and Bad), Vincent Fremont and Shelly Fremont (co-directors of Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story).
Speakers included Danny Fields and a friend of Paul who talked about one of the films that Paul made after he left the Factory - Forty Deuce starring Kevin Bacon as a gay hustler.
Music was the John Cale music from Heat.
The video of the funeral can be found here:
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/new-york-ny/paul-morrissey-12046541
Paul Morrissey's Funeral at Frank E. Campbell's in New York
The funeral of Paul Morrissey who directed Women in Revolt, Flesh, and Trash (among others) died on Monday, October 28, 2024. His funeral will be held at Frank E. Campbell's as above. Full details at:
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/new-york-ny/paul-morrissey-12046541
Obituary forthcoming...
Reva Wolf on panel at New Paltz
Reva Wolf, the author of Andy Warhol, Poetry, and Gossip in the 1960s (University of Chicago Press, 1997) and editor of Translating Warhol (Bloomsbury, 2024) hosted a panel discussion in 2024 on interpreting artists' words at the Samuel Dorfsky Museum as per the following description.
From the blurb:
The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art is thrilled to host the panel discussion Miscommunication, Interpretation, and Translating Artists’ Words, presented in conjunction with our exhibition Mis/Communication: Language and Power in Contemporary Art.
Panelists will consider how tone, word choice, censorship, power dynamics, book cover design, and more come into play when translating Andy Warhol’s words.
Join three SUNY New Paltz faculty, Reva Wolf (Art History), editor of the recently published Translating Warhol, Michelle Woods (English), author of Kafka Translated and co-editor of the Bloomsbury Academic book series Literatures, Cultures, Translation, and Mercedes Rooney (Languages, Literatures & Cultures), translator of the essay "Warhol in French," for an illuminating interdisciplinary conversation regarding what translation can reveal about historical biases, cultural transmission, and how we communicate with each other.
The panel discussion will include questions from students in Art History, English, and Languages, Literatures & Cultures, and will conclude with a book signing and refreshments.
Free and open to the public.
Andy Warhol's Mother
Front cover of Andy Warhol's mother - the woman behind the artist by Elaine Rusinko
Elaine Rusinko's book, Andy Warhol's mother, the woman behind the artist, was published in November 2024. It's brilliant. I can't rate it high enough.
Studying Andy Warhol without researching his immigrant roots is only part of his story. This book fills in the gaps left by other Warhol biographies.
Andy Warhol is the only artist I know of whose mother lived with him (in New York) for more than a decade as he became increasingly famous. She was there from the Soup Cans until a year before her death.
Nobody else could have written this book - Elaine Rusinko speaks Rusyn fluently - the language that Warhol spoke with his family while growing up in Pittsburgh. She is able to translate what Warhol's mother actually said in his film that featured her (directed by Warhol which includes Warhol's boyfriend, Richard Rheem). Rusinko's book also explores what others have written about Warhol's past - revealing the truth behind the rumours. She spent years doing the research for this book.
If you are interested in Andy Warhol the artist and are bored with the sound bites and misquotes that have become his history; if you want to go beyond the social media image of the artist and delve into his background by enjoying this fascinating story of his mother - his roots - and how that affected his art and his life in New York, you will not be disappointed. The text is accompanied by a large selection of fascinating photographs - many of which are previously unseen.
Portrait of the Art Dealer as a Young Man
Art Dealer of GREAT IMPORTANCE, Michael Findlay (originally from the U.K.), has written a brilliant book about his experiences on the New York art scene during the 1960s, including his dealings with Andy Warhol and Ray Johnson (and just about every other significant artist of that period.) Published by Prestel. Details on the publisher's page.
Translating Warhol
Front cover of Translating Warhol by Reva Wolf (ed.)
Translating Warhol, a series of papers that were presented at a seminar organised by Reva Wolf, was published by Bloomsbury in August 2024.
The contents read like a "who's who" in the world of Warhol scholarship including Rusyn expert, Elaine Rusinko, who has previously written about Warhol's Ruthenian roots and is currently working on a book about his mother (anything by Rusinko is worth reading); Nina Schleif who wrote Andy Warhol Drag & Draw: The Unknown Fifties and edited Reading Andy Warhol; French art historian and critic, Jean-Claude Lebensztejn (author of Pissing Figures 1280-2014) whose insight into the way Warhol is translated (and sometimes mis-interpreted) by French writers is fascinating; Jean Wainwright on the BBC documentary Andy Warhol's America - and numerous other contributors - a complete list of the essays can be found on the Bloomsbury website.
Considering the amount of work that has gone into the book and the new information it contains (particularly in regard to the essays by Rusinko and Lebensztejn), it is well worth the price, especially with the pre-order discount. In the UK it can be ordered through Amazon. Highly recommended.