Time Capsule 21

Explore over 50 objects from Time Capsule 21, including photobooth photos, business records, personal notes and cards, record albums, newspaper headlines, and source material for Warhol’s artworks.

Full of material dating from the 1950s to the early 1970s, the contents of the box offers a lens to examine the diverse aspects of Warhol’s art and life and the socio-cultural context of his time.

Explore Time Capsule 21 by theme:

Artwork

Time Capsule 21 is striking in the large amount of Andy Warhol's art and source material it contains from the 1950s and 1960s.

Andy Warhol wears dark sunglasses and tilts his head to the right side of the image. He is wearing a coat, under which a dress shirt and loose tie are visible. Originally a photograph, the image has been printed onto canvas painted turquoise blue. — Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, 1963-1964
The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
© The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
1998.1.810

Julia Warhola

Born in Pittsburgh in 1928, Andy Warhol grew up within the Carpatho‑Rusyn immigrant community, whose culture and Eastern rite Catholicism were passed down by his mother Julia Zavacky Warhola.

Julia Warhola, Angel Holding a Cross, n.d.
The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution Dia Center for the Arts
© The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
TC21.24

Photography

Andy Warhol used photography to view and interact with the world throughout his career.

The cover of Life magazine from October 27, 1972 has the headline “A Genius and his Magic Camera” and shows a man with brown hair and a dark suit using a Polaroid camera. He is surrounded by several children who are reaching out to grab the photo emerging from the camera. The caption reads, “Dr. Edwin Land of Polaroid demonstrates his new invention.” — Life - Vol. 73, no. 17 (October 27, 1972). The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
TC21.72

Correspondence

Vincent Fremont, one of Warhol’s associates, commented that the artist’s mission was to “document everything he came into contact with.” This included preserving a vast amount of his correspondence.

Front of a postcard featuring an image of Pablo Picasso’s painting “Harlequin on Horseback.” A man in a red harlequin costume with a pointed hat sits astride a blue-gray horse. — Postcard (to Andy Warhol, n.d.), front view, 1960-1961
The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
TC21.8

Business

In addition to being a successful artist, Warhol was a successful businessman. After a rather humble childhood, Warhol became possibly the most entrepreneurial artist of his time.

An advertisement for Charles of the Ritz deodorant with two winged cherubs drawn in black ink and filled in with gold. One cherub holds a frame with the ad’s copy and has a speech bubble that says “simply heavenly to use”; the other holds up a tube of the product. — Andy Warhol, Advertisement (Charles of the Ritz antiperspirant deodorant), 1950s-1960s
The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
TC21.25

Artist Friends

People from all walks of life orbited Warhol’s world, including many artists, filmmakers, and musicians – all those engaged in the creative arts.

A faded, sepia-toned polaroid picture of a woman with short hair on the left resting her head on a shorter man with dark hair to the right. — Marie Menken and Willard Maas, 1963
The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
TC21 73.51

Factory Shooting

On June 3rd 1968, Valerie Solanas shot and critically wounded Andy Warhol, apparently outraged by his rejection and the fact that he had lost his copy of her play.

The New York Daily News newspaper with a headline that reads Actress Shoots Andy Warhol / Cries 'He Controlled My Life'. There is a photo of a detective and police woman with another woman (Valerie Solanas) in the middle. — Newspaper clipping (photograph of Valerie Solanas with headline "Actress Shoots Andy Warhol / Cries 'He Controlled My Life'", The New York Daily News, June 4, 1968.) From "Time Capsule 7".
The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
TC7.100