Andy Warhol

Alexandre Iolas

About this artwork

Alexandre Iolas, Warhol’s friend and New York gallery owner, gave him his very first solo exhibition in the summer of 1952 (‘Andy Warhol – Fifteen Drawings Based on the Writings of Truman Capote’). In this portrait-diptych Warhol has deliberately smudged the screenprinted images on both canvases so that Iolas seems little more than a ghost peering vulnerably through the blurred marks. Following the success he achieved in the 1960s, Warhol developed friendships with several other art dealers including Bruno Bischofberger, Thomas Ammann, Leo Castelli and Ivan Karp. In the 1970s he painted a series of their portraits.

Updated before 2020

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  • artist:
    Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987) American
  • title:
    Alexandre Iolas
  • date created:
    1972
  • materials:
    Acrylic paint and silkscreen on 2 canvases
  • measurements:
    Two canvases, each: 101.70 x 101.70 x 2.90 cm; Framed, each: 109.70 x 108.80 x 7.00 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Acquired jointly through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund, 2008
  • accession number:
    AR00230
  • gallery:
  • depicted:
This artwork is part of Artist Rooms
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Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol