Art Museum receives rare Andy Warhol photographs

By Kaity Bergin
Collegian Editor
August 28, 2008

Andy Warhol is coming to La Salle.

Or, at least unreleased photographs from the prominent 60s pop artist are. The La Salle Art Museum recently received a donation of 185 photographs from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York City.

“Andy Warhol is one of the most significant artists in the twentieth century,” museum curator Madeleine Viljoen said. “He was fascinated by the modern consumer culture, which he famously represented in reproductions of Campbell’s Soup cans and Brillo Boxes. A number of the photographs deal with celebrities and fashion, all of which further reflect the artist’s fascination with popular culture.”

The extensive collection consists of 150 photographs by Warhol, all done approximately between the 70s and the 80s. One hundred of the photographs are Polaroids by Warhol, mostly consisting of head shots of popular models at the time, including Cheryl Tiegs and Carolina Herrera, photographed numerous times from different angles and different lighting. The other 100 photographs are silver gelatin traditional black and white prints, with a wide array of subjects. The silver gelatin prints give a much more in-depth look into Warhol’s lifestyle and work. The silver gelatin prints features pictures of Sylvester Stallone, shirtless and posing casually, landscapes of Colorado and other unidentifiable locations, shots off the fashion runway and pictures from parties.

This collection is unique for the Art Museum because all the photographs are unpublished. The Art Museum is planning to exhibit the collection in 2011, but the photographs cannot be displayed permanently or for very long periods of time because of their sensitive nature. The Polaroids are very valuable because they have no negatives. Upon sending La Salle the collection, the museum agreed to show the photographs at least every 10 years.

In celebration of the Andy Warhol Foundation’s 20th anniversary and in an effort to expand access to Warhol’s work, the foundation donated 28,543 photographs to 183 colleges and universities across the country. Other area universities to receive the donation include Princeton and the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. The foundation initially contacted La Salle inquiring about the museum’s Warhol collection.

“After writing back to the foundation telling them that we did not have a Warhol collection, and very little pop art, we applied and were later told that we were eligible to receive a collection,” Viljoen said.

For the application, Viljoen said, “We had to provide specific information on security and climate, as well as how it would fit into our collections.”

It took about a year after the initial inquiry for photographs to finally arrive at their new home in a climate-controlled room in the art museum. The museum does contain some work from local photographers, but Viljoen expressed that while photography has become a “hot market,” it is difficult to start a collection from scratch and that the museum was not anticipating more collections of photography because of the meticulous storage methods required.

In addition to being a pop artist, Warhol was an author, film maker, music producer, a very recogonizable public figure.

The La Salle Art Museum is located in the lower level of Olney Hall; it contains many pieces of artwork from various genres and periods in history. Opened in 1965 by former La Salle University President Brother Daniel Burke for students studying art history, it contains sculptures, paintings and drawings which date back from the Renaissance to present. The museum is free to students and open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Viljoen is calling upon colleagues and prominent scholars to write brief descriptions of the photographs for the future exhibit. Until then, students may make an appointment with the Art Museum to study the collection which is kept within a binder, every photograph in a plastic sleeve.

bergink1@lasalle.edu