The five photographs of Andy Warhol (1928-1987) selected for The Warhol Museum Edition box-set were created by American photographer William John Kennedy (1930-) in the year of 1964. The negatives remained in storage for nearly half a century. This Limited Edition portfolio, signed in the colophon by William John Kennedy, is comprised of four hand-printed gelatin silver photographs and one chromogenic print. It is assembled in a custom designed hand-made archival aluminum box, accompanied by 6 smaller archival aluminum boxes that include a Foreword, Introduction, and five Essays by Museum Director Eric C.Shiner. The portfolio was exclusively created for The Andy Warhol Museum and was limited to an edition of 50 with five artist proofs. There are only five left int he world, which are available exclusively from The Warhol Kennedy Residence.

“The reactions elicited by William John Kennedy’s remarkably intimate portraits of Andy Warhol are not entirely explained by their formal beauty or the innovative perspectives Kennedy uses. The true power of the images comes from Kennedy’s ability to capture, in an authentic way, both Andy as a private person and a very public artist. Much photographed but little understood on a personal level, Andy intentionally created a mask with his deadpan blankness, wig, and sunglasses. Kennedy’s insight was to reveal Andy by embedding Warhol in Warhol artworks. In each of the images included in this spectacular edition, Warhol is literally seen through his work. In Self-Portrait and Race Riot, Warhol wears his work as a sandwich board, the traditional garb of a street hawker. In American Man, Warhol is seen in silhouette through a hole cut into a grid of photographs of the archetypical businessman, Watson Powell, with whom Andy shared a love of commerce but few other qualities. In Flowers, Warhol looks unusually comfortable and relaxed in a field of black-eyed Susans, behind which one of his Flower paintings has been casually hung. And in Marilyn, Warhol’s face can be seen, almost transcendent, lit by sunlight flooding into his studio, as he holds in front of him a huge acetate of Marilyn Monroe. Kennedy knew intuitively that the only way to truly see Warhol was to see his art. In uniting Warhol the man with Warhol the artist, Kennedy has given us some of the most joyous and insightful images of Andy Warhol ever created. Remarkably, Kennedy kept his archive in storage for nearly 50 years. Now, The Andy Warhol Museum is delighted to be involved in bringing these images to a wider public.”

Foreword to The Museum Edition by Eric C. Shiner, Director The Andy Warhol Museum.Images (clockwise from left): Homage to Warhol’s Marilyn; Homage to Warhol’s Flowers; Homage to Warhol’s Self-Portrait ; Homage to Warhol’s American Man; Homage to Warhol’s Birmingham Race Riot