Image courtesy Jeanette Montgomery Baron and Jackson Fine Art
Andy Warhol, the most recognized American artist of the 20th century, led the Pop Art movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s. His bold, provocative style, eccentric personality and business approach to art production brought him fame and fortune.
The First Ever Exhibit to Fully Explore Warhol’s Love of the West
Even ardent fans of American artist, director, and producer Andy Warhol aren’t likely aware that the Pop icon loved the West.
He wore cowboy boots (many paint splattered) most days and traveled often to New Mexico, Texas and Colorado, areas where he acquired some of his vast personal collection of western art, pottery, photographs, artifacts, fashion, and accessories.
Warhol Made the West Pop
Warhol’s western influences culminated in the last major project before his death – the 1986 series Cowboys and Indians. The 14 iconic Western subjects making up this group include Custer, Geronimo, Annie Oakley, and John Wayne – they form the backbone of Warhol and the West. Joining this rare Warhol series are more than 100 Western objects and other works from the artist’s own collection and related sources.
This is the first ever museum show to explore the full range of Western imagery Warhol produced and how his love for Western movies and the region shaped his ironic artistic commentary on how Americans mythologize the West.
The National Debut of a Major Traveling Exhibition
Co-developed with the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and the Tacoma Art Museum, Warhol and the West is making its national debut at the Booth (August 25 – December 31, 2019) before moving on to Oklahoma City and Tacoma, Washington in 2020.
Media:
For inquiries about Warhol and the West, please visit our dedicated press page.
Image courtesy Jeanette Montgomery Baron and Jackson Fine Art
Andy Warhol, the most recognized American artist of the 20th century, led the Pop Art movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s. His bold, provocative style, eccentric personality and business approach to art production brought him fame and fortune.
Booth Members:
Reserve your place at the members-only opening events (registration required)! Not a member? Join today & attend.
Can’t attend the Warhol Exhibit? Purchase your own copy of the Commemorative First Edition book Warhol and the West.
WARHOL EXHIBIT SPONSORS
SIGNATURE SPONSOR
Neva & Don Rountree
MEDIA PARTNER
GPB
PLATINUM SPONSORS
Anne B. Eldridge
Anonymous
Luther King Capital Management
Karen & Joel Piassick
GOLD SPONSORS
Christina & Paul Blackney
Kelly & Steve Buckner
Andrea & Rick Miller
Susie & Bob Miller
WBHF
SILVER SPONSOR
The Benefit Company
Century Bank of Georgia
Cobb EMC Community Foundation
Learn More About Warhol and The West
See the exhibition and buy the book: Warhol and the West Written by Heather Ahtone, Faith Brower, and Seth Hopkins Available in early August 2019
Even ardent fans of Andy Warhol (1928–1987) may be surprised to learn that the artist created a significant body of western work. In fact, Warhol was drawn to the lore and lure of the American West throughout his life. He was heavily influenced by the mythology and conography of the American West, conveyed primarily through film and television, and reinforced at various points in his life by toys, clothing, and travel. His lifelong fascination with the West culminated with his 1986 series Cowboys and Indians, a print portfolio that represents an important milestone in the artist’s late career and a shift in the conception of contemporary western American art. One of the last major projects Warhol completed prior to his death, Cowboys and Indians received very little critical or public attention at the time of its release and remains one of the most understudied aspects of the artist’s career. Warhol and the West will explore for the first time the range of western imagery Warhol produced. New scholarship will examine how Warhol’s western work merges the artist’s ubiquitous portrayal of celebrities with his interest in cowboys, American Indians, and other western motifs. His work in the western genre is immediately recognizable, impressive, daring, inspirational, and sometimes confrontational. This body of work furthers our understanding of how the American West infiltrates the public’s imagination through contemporary art and popular culture. The major traveling exhibition includes more than 100 objects and works of art including source materials revealing Warhol’s process. The accompanying catalogue will feature essays by heather ahotone of the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum (AICCM) in Oklahoma City, Faith Brower of the Tacoma Art Museum, and Seth Hopkins of the Booth Western American Art Museum, as well as 12 additional contributors. Published in association with the Tacoma Art Museum.
Exhibition dates: Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, GA: August 24, 2019-December 31, 2019 National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK: February 14, 2020- May 13, 2020 Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA: June 13, 2020-September 20, 2020 heather ahtone is the Senior Curator at the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum (AICCM) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Faith Brower is the Haub Curator of Western American Art at Tacoma Art Museum in Tacoma, Washington. Seth Hopkins is the Executive Director of the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia.