In 1954, Andy Warhol, a renowned cat lover, published a series of 25 portraits of cats in book form. Printed on hand-colored limited edition Arches watermarked paper, prints were privately printed and made as a Christmas keepsake. He named his book 25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy. He had originally wanted him to say “… Named Sam”, but his mother, who made the letters, left the “d” and Warhol thought the final version was fine.
In the 1950s, Warhol bought a brownstone where he and his mother lived. And, although they had had cats for twenty years, his series of cat portraits was not based on the cats he lived and knew with. Instead, they relied on the photographs of New York cat photographer Walter Chandoha.
In the 1970s, Warhol’s interest in cats waned and his interest in dogs increased. Her boyfriend decided that they should have a short haired dachshund puppy. They named the dog “Archie”. Warhol was so captivated by Archie that he became his alter ego. While holding Archie during interviews, when Warhol didn’t want to answer a particular question, he simply diverted the questions to Archie. Warhol took the dog everywhere: to his studio, to art openings, to dinner, to photo shoots, and to London when his work got him there.
When Archie was almost three years old, another dachshund entered the scene. They called this dog “Amos.” The three of them got along very well. Amos and Archie ran around the house barking, chasing and playing with each other while providing constant entertainment for Warhol. Everything was fine, except now Archie would be staying home with his new friend Amos instead of walking around town with Warhol.
In 1976, art collector Peter Brant commissioned Andy Warhol to paint his Cocker Spaniel named Ginger. Andy did two Ginger paintings, plus drawings. Peter Brant liked these so much that he thought Warhol should do a whole series of cat and dog drawings. Andy also liked the idea. It would open a new commissioned portrait area and give him the opportunity to use Archie and Amos in his work. All that was missing was a cat to fit the modeling mold.
Warhol liked to work from photographs. She had a hard time organizing her pets and keeping them quiet. He decided to use stuffed animals for his first photos of dogs and cats. Artnet’s Vincent Fremont called the finished paintings of these stuffed creatures “creepy and macabre.” The paintings; however, the one that Warhol completed from photographs of dogs and cats is said to be vibrant and infused with personality.
After some time, he began to dabble in other arts, including underground films that explored the shocking value of nudity, greed, and sexuality. In 1976, after his hiatus from mainstream artistic pursuits, Peter Brant organized the Warhol cat and dog series exhibition in New York and London.
After Warhol’s period of drawing and painting cats and dogs, he began with artistic renderings of Campbell’s soup cans and his focus on pop culture as seen in his Marilyn Monroe-centric works. After his mother’s death, Warhol became more distant from the public eye. Warhol left his diaries behind which were later published in a book. While many say his entries are “worldly,” those who study his art find that they leave behind a history, a postmodern story that highly reflects his beliefs, ties, and a life dedicated to the exploratory arts.
Copyright © 2008 Melanie Light