How Andy Warhol Became the Original Influencer
- yartlondon
- Jul 15
- 2 min read
"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes"
Andy Warhol might be best known for his silkscreen pop art portraits - including one of Marilyn Monroe, which sold for $195 million in 2022 - but photography was his passion, taking more than 60,000 photographs during his lifetime.
Warhol carried a camera almost everywhere, documenting his daily life, parties, and the art scene around him, creating an obsessive visual diary. With these he created his “time capsules” - boxes that contained Polaroids from various events in his life, stored with ephemera like notes and receipts.
Warhol had an uncanny understanding of the power of image - not just in the artistic sense, but in the cultural and commercial sense. He believed in modern culture; an image could become more real than the person it represented.
Due to this he began to mould himself into a character, an identifiable figure that he could engineer a public persona for. His look became instantly recognisable, donning silver wigs, dark glasses, and an emotionless expression.
Having created an image of himself that was globally recognised, Warhol started to gain a cult following, then shortly afterwards a celebrity following. He would regularly be seen with the likes of Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Grace Jones, and many more of the biggest names of the 70s and 80s.
He used this new social influence to change the way celebrities were perceived, using their faces as visual shorthand for beauty, fame, or even tragedy.
Elvis Presley could represent American masculinity, mass entertainment, Jackie Kennedy, public grief and media speculation, and Elizabeth Taylor, Hollywood drama, and fragility. These faces became modular and could be reused, recoloured, and commodified.
Through his obsessive documentation, iconic self-styling, and mastery of celebrity imagery, Warhol didn’t just reflect pop culture - he shaped it. Long before Instagram or influencers, he understood that image is identity, and visibility is power. And in many ways, Andy Warhol was the blueprint for the digital age: the original influencer.
Available to purchase from Clifton Gallery
Andy Warhol Old Fashioned Vegetable from Campbell's Soup II (Soup Can, F.&S.54)
Details: Colour screenprint on wove paper 58.5 x 88.9 cm 1969 Edition of 250 Hand signed in pen by Andy Warhol on the reverse Stamped edition number on the reverse From the Campbell's Soup II Series Published by Factory Additions, New York
Untitled (Woman with Sunglasses)
Details: Graphite on wove paper 1962 60.6 x 45.7 cm Annotated 'C-808.2' in pencil on the reverse Framed
Untitled (Mao) from The New York Collection for Stockholm
Details: Unique Xerox print on paper 1973 27.9 x 21.6 cm Hand-signed by Warhol Edition of 300 unique prints Catalogue raisonné entry: Feldman & Schellmann II.89 Printed by Styria Studio, Inc., New York Published by Experiments in Art and Technology, New York Mint condition, housed within the original typeset paper folder from the portfolio.
Perrier - White
Details: Offset lithograph Measures 45 x 59.5 cm Signed in the plate Limited edition, unknown size
Click below to view our full Andy Warhol collection. For more details or to enquire about any of the works featured, please get in touch.
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