Gelatin Silver Prints

Known to shoot one or more rolls of film each day, Andy Warhol jokingly referred to his camera as his “date,” and brought his Polaroid camera (or the latest 35mm point-and-shoot) with him wherever he went. While Warhol’s Polaroids often feature famous faces posing for the camera, his gelatin silver prints provide a more intimate lens into the glamour and grit of the Pop artist’s social circle. These black-and-white portraits capture Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, John Lennon, Debbie Harry, and other celebrity-icons in surprisingly relaxed settings—dining at a restaurant, celebrating at a wedding, or dancing at Studio 54. These snapshots, many of which are unique on the market, epitomize Warhol’s beliefs about art and celebrity: “My idea of a good picture,” he once said, “is one of a famous person doing something unfamous.”