Andy Warhol-the-Catholic Dreams of God

HYPERALLERGIC
By David Carrier

Detail: Andy Warhol, “Jesus Statue” (painted between 1938 and 1941), paint on plaster; Jeffrey Warhola

PITTSBURGH — That Andy Warhol was a lifelong practicing Byzantine (i.e. Eastern) Catholic is not a secret. At least one book is devoted to his religious concerns. His biographers and some critics note that most of the women and men in the Factory were lapsed believers. And he made paintings, especially late in life, with explicit Christian concerns. But because the contemporary art world has, at least recently, been a secular place, there hasn’t been much attention given to Warhol-the-Catholic. Some of the work in this show has not been much seen before, or even published. [More]

Andy Warhol, “Jesus Statue” (painted between 1938 and 1941), paint on plaster; Jeffrey Warhola

John Warhola, Andy Warhol right before college in September 1945. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.T600

Unknown, Andy Warhol as a young boy, ca. 1936The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.1998.3.5218

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