Andy Warhol’s Life in 732 Polaroids

Andy Warhol documented everything, just not always with the intention of showing the world. With Andy Warhol: Family Album, an exhibition of 732 Polaroids shot across 1972 and 1973, the Whitney Museum of American Art makes the case that even the artist’s most offhand moments were all a part of his master project. Drawn from one of six Holson albums Warhol assembled as a private archive, the show pulls back the velvet rope on a side of the artist that rarely gets airtime: His dog Archie, his Montauk home, his visits to Europe, and the friends who travelled with him along the way. It’s easy to forget that photography wasn’t a hobby for Warhol, but rather the foundation of his practice. He carried a camera with him everywhere, and by the early ’70s the Polaroid had become his tool of choice, feeding directly into the silkscreen portraits that cemented him in art history. The photos are at once gloriously glamorous and almost mundanely domestic–a true reflection of Warhol’s world. The show is currently on view through October 19 on the seventh floor at the Whitney. If you haven’t had a chance to head over yet, we’ve snagged a handful of special photos from the exhibition you can explore below. 

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