In 1965, Steve Schapiro began following Andy Warhol for Life magazine: Warhol, who found inspiration in popular culture and objects of a commercial nature, was establishing his reputation as a major pop artist. With his sunglasses, blond wig and bland public statements, Warhol was enigmatic, charismatic, deeply ambitious and aware that to become a star he needed people to document his career. The equally ambitious and hard-working Schapiro was the perfect witness to Warhol's unstoppable rise from cult New York artist to twentieth-century icon. In the photographer's own words: he was silent and smiled a lot. Ironically, Lifen never published his work, so many of these images are shown here for the first time after scanning negatives found in Schapiro's archive.
Between 1965 and 1966, Warhol was at his creative peak. During this period, Schapiro photographed Warhol and his entourage of superstars, including the legendary Edie Sedgwick and Nico, at exhibition openings, shooting his underground film Camp, working on silkscreens at The Factory and roaming the streets of New York. Schapiro was also at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia for the opening of the first-ever museum retrospective of Warhol. The event, attended by thousands of people, marked the coronation of the new king of art and the birth ofandymania. The final stop on the tour takes us to Los Angeles, where Warhol exhibited his ironic Silver Clouds at the Ferus Gallery, lived in the Castle, and staged and filmed a performance by the cult band Velvet Underground.
Schapiro's 120-plus photographs are juxtaposed with the works Warhol created and exhibited during this period, from Campbell's Soup Cans to the Glitter Boxes.The texts include an interview with Steve Schapiro, who passed away in early 2022, and an essay and commentary on the works by Warhol's official biographer Blake Gopnik.Andy Warhol and Friends 1965-1966 is the definitive portrait of a groundbreaking artist in a transformative period of postwar American culture.

Publisher: Taschen