Andy Warhol Museum

Andy Warhol may be known for his pop art and glitzy New York lifestyle, but he grew up on the tough-and-tumble streets of Pittsburgh.

PHOTO: ARCHIE CARPENTER/STRINGER, GETTY IMAGES

After his death in 1987, it was decided by the surviving Warhol clan that the Andy Warhol Museum would be opened in his hometown to preserve his artwork, and to introduce Pittsburgh’s youth to contemporary art as a whole.

The museum’s permanent collection includes more than 12,000 works, including 900 paintings; 77 sculptures and collaborative works; 1,500 drawings; 500 published prints; 400 black-and-white photographs; and sewn photographs, Polaroids and photo booth strips. Also included in the collection are wallpaper and books designed and written by Warhol.

While the museum, which opened in 1994, is the largest venue in the world dedicated to a single artist, it also features temporary exhibits, and hosts lectures, educational programs and art happenings–including the ultra-swank Good Fridays happy hour.

As a child, Warhol received his first formal training in art through free classes offered by the Carnegie Institute. The Andy Warhol Museum is now part of the institute’s endeavors to serve inner-city youth—particularly those who live in Warhol’s old stomping ground on the North Shore—through classes in studio art and through the Education Resource Center for schoolteachers. The education department also serves Pittsburgh’s adult population through a full range of programs, including lectures and gallery talks.

“The Warhol museum is very important to the city of Pittsburgh,” says the museum’s communications manager Rick Armstrong. “Not only does it serve as a destination for fans of Warhol, but it serves the community as well.”

412-237-8300 | www.warhol.org