Andy Warhol: The Impossible Collection

Book excerpt: Andy Warhol’s explosive Pop Art and sharp commentary on advertising and celebrity culture are renowned and deeply relevant even decades after their creation. Though Warhol himself could be a polarizing figure both personally and professionally, there is no doubt that he was a pioneer of the Pop movement, and today, as a result, his works regularly fetch astronomical prices. In this evocative addition to Assouline’s Ultimate Collection, Warhol expert and former Andy Warhol Museum director Eric Shiner curates the 100 quintessential, unique works that define the evolution of this illustrious artist, tracing Warhol’s dynamic career from the late forties to the end of the eighties and creating a stunning compendium whose pieces, due to their rarity, value, and prestige as part of a museum or other collection, could simply never all be acquired by a single collector. Casual art lovers know Campbell’s Soup Cans and the Marilyn Diptych, but Andy Warhol: The Impossible Collection goes deeper, revealing and revisiting some less ubiquitous yet equally powerful pieces, spanning paintings, prints, sculpture, films, and photography, from Warhol’s astonishing oeuvre.