Andy Warhol (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture, and advertising that flourished by the 1960s.

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After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became a renowned and sometimes controversial artist. His art used many types of media, including hand drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, silk screening, sculpture, film, and music. His studio,

The Factory, was a well known gathering place that brought together distinguished intellectuals, drag queens, playwrights, Bohemian street people, Hollywood celebrities,

and wealthy patrons. He managed and produced The Velvet Underground, a rock band which had a strong influence on the evolution of punk rock music. He founded Interview magazine and was the author of numerous books, including The Philosophy of Andy Warhol andPopism: The Warhol Sixties. He is also notable as a gay man who lived openly as such before the gay liberation movement, and he is credited with coining the widely used expression "15 minutes of fame".