Film at the Whitney: The Andy Warhol Film Project

Insider Series members in the Curate Your Own Program

From 1963 through 1968, Andy Warhol produced nearly 650 films, including dozens of feature-length movies, in styles ranging from minimalist avant-garde to commercial “sexploitation.” Shortly afterwards, the artist withdrew his films from distribution; for the next twenty years, most critics and scholars could only reconstruct these works from reviews and other verbal accounts.

In 1982, curatorial staff from the Whitney and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) initiated a long-term project, with the artist’s permission, to preserve, research, and ultimately exhibit Warhol’s films, making his achievement available to scholars and the wider public. MoMA acquired the films and began the process of preservation; staff at the Whitney undertook the scholarship that would contextualize the films and form the groundwork for future presentations.

Major milestones in the project included exhibitions of Warhol’s films at the Whitney in 1988 and 1994 and the publication of the first volume The Films of Andy Warhol Catalog Raisonné in 2006. Claire K. Henry began working directly with the Andy Warhol Film Project at the Whitney in 2007, focusing on the preparation of the forthcoming volume two of the catalog raisonné. In this presentation, which includes screenings of film excerpts, Henry will provide an insider’s look at this unique curatorial endeavor.

Insider Series members are invited to attend one of two sessions:

Option 1: December 5, 7:00 pm
Option 2: January 16, 7:00 pm

Open to Insider Series members in the Curate Your Own Program. Become a member, or upgrade your membership by calling (212) 570-3641.