Chapter 10
Legacy

Andy began to have stomach pains in the winter of 1987. He had never liked going to the doctor. But his friends finally persuaded him to do something about the pain. The doctor told Andy that his gallbladder was infected and that he would need surgery. Andy didn’t like that idea, but he had no other choice. He had the operation on February 21, 1987. Everything seemed to go well. But overnight his health worsened. Andy died suddenly on the morning of February 22, at age fifty-eight.

Andy was buried in Pittsburgh near his mother and father. A few months later, there was a memorial service for him in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. More than two thousand people attended. Andy had made many, many friends during his short life.

Andy died an extremely wealthy man. His town house was filled with art, antiques, furniture, sculptures, and jewelry. There were cookie jars, toys, and knickknacks. Drawers were filled with jewels. Everything Andy owned was sold at an auction for a total of about $25 million.

Andy had arranged for most of his money to be used to start the Andy Warhol Museum and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in Pittsburgh, which teaches people about Andy’s life and work. The foundation also gives money to support young artists and arts groups.

Andy did an amazing amount of work in his lifetime. He created about thirty-two thousand paintings and prints, and many films. His paintings are now very valuable. In 2008, his Eight Elvises (1963), sold for $100 million!

ANDY’S INFLUENCE

THE INFLUENCE OF ANDY WARHOL CAN BE SEEN IN MANY LATE TWENTIETH-CENTURY ARTISTS WHO TRY TO MATCH ANDY’S ABILITY TO TURN HIMSELF INTO A CELEBRITY AND A “BRAND” THAT CAN BE SOLD. BRITISH ARTIST DAMIEN HIRST HAS OWNED RESTAURANTS AND SHOPS. JAPANESE ARTIST TAKASHI MURAKAMI HAS GIFT STORES THAT TRAVEL WITH HIS EXHIBITS, AND DESIGNS EVERYTHING FROM HANDBAGS TO TOYS. IT’S NOW COMMON FOR ARTISTS TO BE SEEN AT CELEBRITY EVENTS AND HAVE GALLERY OPENINGS THAT ARE MORE LIKE PARTIES THAN ART SHOWS.

 

Andy showed that everyday things can be art. His portrait style, with repeated printed images, is copied everywhere. Street vendors sell pictures of today’s celebrities done in the style of his Marilyn Monroe silk-screened portraits. Websites can turn an ordinary photo into a “Warhol-style” portrait.

Andy believed people could be superstars just by being themselves. Now people do that every day through social media, on YouTube, and on reality TV.

In 2012, Campbell’s Soup celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the Ferus Gallery show with a set of limited edition, Warhol-inspired soup can labels. Soup cans had become the art Andy always knew they were. Andy would have liked that.