Walls of Fame: Exhibit reveals Warhol’s evolutionary relationship with celebrity

Sun Staff

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2003 | 8:17 a.m.

Dressed in black and accompanied by a longtime friend, Liza Minnelli appeared at the door. She sat down for tea and began to share stories about her old friend, Andy Warhol.

They talked into the evening. They talked about Warhol, his celebrity portraits and the stories behind the portraits. In between they chatted about Minnelli's parents, Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli.

When the session came to a close they said their goodbyes and the three representing the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art were as they were before Minnelli had arrived.

With them, they had on tape an intimate account of Warhol and his work.

On Friday when the exhibit "Andy Warhol: The Celebrity Portraits" opens at the Bellagio, Minnelli's voice will usher visitors through the gallery.

"We wanted to tell a story in the exhibition," said Bundonis, president of PaperBall, a subsidiary of Pace Wildenstein that owns and operates the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art.

"Liza's doing this with the audio. It's very personal. She gives great background. She lived through these times. She knew all of this. She made some interesting insights to Warhol."

The roughly 50 portraits featured in the exhibit include three decades of Warhol's fascination with celebrities, beginning with a 1962 silkscreen of actor Troy Donahue. Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jagger, Rudolph Nureyev, Debbie Harry and Sylvester Stallone are part of the collection.

"Much to our amazement, there has never been an exhibition dedicated solely to celebrity portraits," Glimcher, chairman of the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, said.

The reason, Glimcher said, is thematic.

"The portraits from the '60s (using publicity photos) vary differently from the portraits of the '70s and '80s.

"In the portraits on the '60s, Andy Warhol didn't know those people. He was nowhere near those people. In the portraits of the '70s, these people were dying to come over and get their portrait done.

"The very reason these works aren't put together is the reason we put them together."

Also on display will be Warhol's personal objects -- including a wig, eyeglasses and tape recorder -- along with an illustrated time line and accompanying photographs and memorabilia (on loan from the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh) that reflect Warhol's childhood and the pop-art phenomenon he became.

Combined with the celebrity portraits, Glimcher said, "This is the whole story of Andy Warhol's life."

Rise to fame

Known as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Warhol brought attention to inanimate objects seen in everyday life, as well as reflections of society's -- and his own -- obsession with fame and glamour.

His repetitious renditions of Campbell soup cans, Marilyn Monroe portraits and Coca-Cola bottles are considered influential on contemporary art, design and advertising. The Factory, where he worked, drew scores of celebrities.

Shot almost fatally in 1968 by Valeri Solanis of SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men), Warhol recovered and went on to create Interview magazine. He died in February 1987 following a routine surgery, leaving behind a vibrant legacy.

The images used for "Andy Warhol: The Celebrity Portraits" are from the collection of Jose Mugrabi, whose family owns possibly the largest Warhol collection in the world.

Featured in chronological order are politicians, actors, musicians, writers, fashion designers and other pop icons. (A 1978 portrait of Minnelli is on loan from the Andy Warhol Museum.)

"We've got everybody from Dolly Parton, Aretha Franklin ... a portrait of Michael Jackson from 1984, Alfred Hitchcock, Georgio Armani, Gianni Versace," Bundonis said.

The gallery

Planning for the exhibit began in 2000 when PaperBall was already working with the gallery on exhibits.

Warhol's name is expected to draw crowds, including those who don't usually follow art, gallery representatives say.

"It's a subject that interests everyone not only in America but the world," Bundonis said, explaining Minnelli's audio reference to America, a country without royalty, in which celebrities tend to achieve royal status.

Besides, Bundonis said, "We're doing something that really hasn't been done before."

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles last year hosted a Warhol retrospective, which included more than 200 paintings (including works from the disaster series), drawings and sculptures.

However, Bundonis said, "These paintings we have weren't in that collection."

Since taking over the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, PaperBall has featured the works of Alexander Calder and "Faberge: Treasures from the Kremlin." The Faberge exhibit ended in January and drew 142,000 visitors, Bundonis said.

Not quite a museum and not an actual gallery, Bundonis said the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art tries to focus on more intimate showings, with its exhibits telling a story.

"The Celebrity Portraits," accompanied by Minnelli's narrative, is an example.

"When visitors go through the show, they'll feel like she's literally accompanying them," she said.