Andy Warhol was not only a fixture of the party circuit from the 1960s into the 1980s, he often took it upon himself to chronicle the nightlife himself.
Now, an exhibition on view at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles (through April 14) brings together dozens of photographs taken by Warhol in the last decade of his life, including snapshots of Hollywood stars like Elizabeth Taylor, Bianca Jagger, and Steven Spielberg. A selection of photographs by the artist Maripol, printed at a large-scale, will also be on view.
The Warhol photographs come from the James R. Hedges IV Collection, the largest gathering of Warhol’s photographs. Hedges began buying the works soon after Warhol’s death in 1987, and the collection includes hundreds of Polaroids, photo-booth strips, screen tests, and silver gelatin prints, many of them acquired directly from Warhol’s inner circle of confidants and collaborators.
Warhol used Polaroid cameras throughout his career, often referring to his camera as his “date.” But in the last 10 years of his life, it really did become his muse. During those years, Warhol shot with a 35mm camera daily, taking over 100,000 photos and printing only a fraction of them. Many of those unseen images are included in this exhibition for the first time ever.
See more images from the exhibition below.
Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Taylor, Dinner Party at Halston’s Townhouse in New York City. Courtesy Hedges Projects, Los Angeles. Copyright The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Andy Warhol, Donald Sutherland (1982). Courtesy Hedges Projects, Los Angeles. Copyright The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Andy Warhol, Carol Burnett (1978). Courtesy Hedges Projects, Los Angeles. Copyright The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Andy Warhol, Bianca Jagger with Birthday Cake and Alana Stewart (1985). Courtesy Hedges Projects, Los Angeles. Copyright The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Andy Warhol, Halston in the backseat of a limo (en route to Studio 54 with Bianca Jagger) (1979). Courtesy Hedges Projects, Los Angeles. Copyright The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Andy Warhol, Steven Spielberg. Courtesy Hedges Projects, Los Angeles. Copyright The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and private jet (1983). Courtesy Hedges Projects, Los Angeles. Copyright The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Andy Warhol, Barry Diller Richard Gere, and Guest (1979). Courtesy Hedges Projects, Los Angeles. Copyright The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.