Andy Warhol—
From A to B and 
Back Again

From 1968 to 1987, Warhol received hundreds of portrait commissions from business moguls, art collectors, socialites, fashion designers, models, royals, and celebrities of all kinds. His own public recognition gave Warhol access to those who sought the cachet of having their portraits painted by him, and with these works he brought renewed attention to the tradition of portraiture in the avant-garde art world.      

“I always try to make the person look good. It's easier if you give somebody something back that looks like them.”

For most of these paintings, he used a streamlined production method, taking photographs himself with a Polaroid camera and then using the resulting images for the silkscreen. Warhol usually made extra panels of each portrait and kept them for himself. He envisioned someday combining these works into what he called a “portrait of society,” a massive visual index representing a Who’s Who of Warhol’s circle and beyond.