This book grew out of an exhibition that was organized by the Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York, in 2005. With the show, Shafrazi paid homage to a seminal display of Warhol's portraits that took place at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, in 1979-80. Titled "Andy Warhol: Portraits of the 1970s," the Whitney exhibition presented for the first time a large array of the commissioned portraits that the artist began in the early 1970s as a way to offset the cost of multiplying activities at the Factory. Shafrazi's exhibition included many of the portraits shown in the original Whitney exhibition as well as others. This volume takes Shafrazi's exhibition even further, nearly doubling the number of works shown. Art historians and critics have long neglected this body of Warhol's work, preferring to discuss and study the more iconic Lizzes and Marilyns or Campbell's Soup Cans of the 1960s. Many of the portraits in this book have rarely been seen before.

For example, the book will include, in addition to the famous portraits of Jackie, Marlon Brando, or Dennis Hopper, images that Warhol made of actors Bill Murray and Meryl Streep, of fellow artists Donald Judd, Cy Twombly, and Joseph Kosuth, of royal family members such as Princess Diana and Princess Caroline, and of lesser-known socialites and art patrons. This book includes an essay by Robert Rosenblum, who also contributed to the Whitney's original exhibition catalogue, a text by renowned art historian and Warhol expert Carter Ratcliff, and an introduction by Tony Shafrazi.

2007-05-08 Face-to-Face Comparisons Reveal Warhol's Perspectives

When most people think of Andy Warhol, images of Campbell's soup cans and a vividly colored Chairman Mao come to mind. For those who know Warhol better, memories also include Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy, most wanted posters, and self-portraits of the artist.

What few appreciate is that portraiture was the bread-and-butter that Warhol used to finance his experimental work at the Factory. Before this book, you could not see the full range of this work. Unframed and grouped with similar and complementary works in the same time period, these 300 portraits show a considerable range of style and expression that will be a new perspective for all but collectors of Warhol portraits. I found the work to be so impressive that it totally changed my sense of who Warhol was as an artist.

In this book, the portraits do the talking. The brief essays merely describe the processes that Warhol used and that he tried to make people look good . . . and larger than life. But you knew that already, didn't you?

The range of the ways he captured the spirit of his subjects is what's most impressive in this volume. Repetition of the same image in one work with different treatments could help us see many different expressions of the person (see Natalie 1962). In other places, many images of the same person in one work express mood, movement, and a story (see Sixteen Jackies 1964). In other cases, multiple images of the same subject give us deep insight into personality (see Ethel Scull 1963). In other cases, the multiple images show the reality as well as the personality (see Merce Cunningham 1963 and Triple Rauschenberg 1963).

Exploring different use of colors and backgrounds, Warhol could totally change our emotions as viewers (Silver Liz 1963 gives us a sense of coolness and elegance while Liz 1963 shows a woman of great emotion and passion).

In Warhol's process, subjects were photographed around 100 times using a Polaroid camera. The subject then picked the images (or image) that she or he liked best. The images were turned into silk screens. Then, Warhol added the background and color to capture what the mere shape could not. The degree of focus also creates more or less power and immediacy (compare Donald Judd 1967 and Robert Rauschenberg 1967).

The portraits also create dialogues, such as when married couples had their portraits done around the same time. In the book, these images are often on facing pages. You'll be arrested to see Nelson Rockefeller 1967 and Happy Rockefeller 1968 looking off into the same spot in space . . . but not each other. The color overlap is minimal, emphasizing their differences.

These images are even more arresting when the pair are portrayed looking away from one another as with Gianni Agnelli 1972 and Marella Agnelli 1972.
In places, painterly backgrounds add remarkable depth and power to the images as with the Agnellis.

In places, the painterly treatment is sufficient to remind one of the work of Degas such as Lee Radziwell, 1972.

Portrait creators have always arranged sitters carefully to emphasize a certain point. Warhol does this in a very minimal way, often adding more than part of a hand touching the face or a bit of clothing. Because of its slight use, the impact is much stronger.

How do the subjects fare? Those with strong personalities do best. Those with complex personalities are rendered beautifully, but aren't as accessible. Subjects who want to look physically attractive often appear merely decorative, like a background model at a party.

Warhol's talent can best be seen by comparing the various ways he renders eyes. Male and female subjects alike receive slashes of color that sometimes resemble eye shadow and other times seem like tiny masks.

There isn't much that's soulful about these works. They are more about promotion than about moral uplift. It's all the more surprising when that soulfulness appears as in Farah Dibah Pahlavai (Empress of Iran) 1977.

Seeing Judy Garland 1979 and Liza Minelli 1979 made me wish that Warhol had done more mother-daughter combinations. These two stunners crawl right inside you.

Part of Warhol's art comes in knowing something about the person. Where the subject is unknown, you'll find yourself a little more baffled about what the message is. Think of each of the celebrity portraits then as being in part a reflection of the public image and our current perceptions. Warhol uses this celebrity awareness to good purpose in creating very minimal works that express the dominant impression of a person (see Martha Graham 1980).

As his career continued, the works became more daring. I was particularly drawn to the line drawings with bold bands of color such as in Paul Delvaux 1981 and Jean Cocteau 1985.

Some of these portraits will cause you to stop and rethink what you know about the people. I had that reaction to the pairing of Prince Charles 1982 (coolly displayed as a young symbol of the monarchy) with the almost flirtatious Princess Diana 1982 (appearing as a powerful force with an earthy grounding).

The portrait of John Lennon is simply stunning (1985-86).

For a good sense of Warhol's progress, you'll enjoy seeing many of his self-portraits.

Enjoy a good look!