28 May 2013

Teylers Museum presents Andy Warhol. Unknown early drawings

The coming summer, the Print Room of Teylers Museum will be showing over 50 hitherto unknown early drawings by one of the most important artists of the 20th century: Andy Warhol (1928-1987). These works are among the 300-odd 'new' Warhol drawings that were found, more or less by chance, in the archives of the Warhol Foundation in 2011. This discovery offers a fascinating insight into the artist before he became the 'Prince of Pop Art'.

The 1950s
The recently discovered works date from the 1950s, from the earliest days of Warhol's career. The drawings were executed in pen and ink, in clear contours, most show children and young people, alone or in groups. Some of them resemble the work he was doing in this period as a fashion illustrator and advertising designer. Some recall the expressive style of German and Austrian artists from the early twentieth century, such as Egon Schiele, George Grosz and Otto Dix. Others rather point forward to Warhol's later paintings. Most were based on photographs or magazine illustrations. It is fascinating to discover that he was already producing works in series at this time. Warhol printed the drawings while they were still wet, creating reverse-image copies of them.

Chance discovery
In total, over 300 'new' Warhol drawings were found, more or less by chance. In 1990 they were stored away at the Andy Warhol Foundation in New York as 'archival material'. The German gallery-owner Daniel Blau discovered them in pristine state in 2011 and realised their importance. Earlier this year, this exhibition was on view at the Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen; it will later tour to the Graphische Sammlung in Munich. Teylers Museum is exhibiting a selection of Warhol's finest early drawings in the intimate setting of the Print Room, from 1 June to 1 September 2013.

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Editorial note / not for publication
For more information and/or images, please contact Femke Gerritsma, Public Affairs Department, Tel. +31 (0)23 516 0971 (direct) or Tel. +31 (0)23 516 0960 (general) or pers@teylersmuseum.nl.