Time for a change of art?

Think Andy Warhol, think Campbell’s soup. But did you know that the award-winning artist ate Campbells tomato soup everyday for 20 years?

Andy Warhol is a name familiar to many, synonymous with the art world and known for his eclectic style. But beyond his paintings of soup cans, Coca-Cola bottles and Marilyn Monroe, how much do you know about him?

1. Andy’s real name is Andy Warhola.

The first big break came for Andy when he illustrated an article in Glamour Magazine in 1949. The magazine credited him incorrectly ‘Drawings by Andy Warhol’. He decided to keep the shorter surname because it was easier to say.¹

2. A day is any other day.

Andy liked to change the date for celebrating his birthday from the August 6^th 1928. His birth was never officially registered so he would amend his birthdate and apparently fabricate stories about his youth.²

3. His artist career began in bed.

At the age of 8 years old Andy contracted Sydenham chorea³, an illness which altered the pigment of his skin and kept him bedridden for many weeks at a time. During this time his mother, also a talented artist, gave him drawing lessons and his career aspirations began to take hold.

4. Andy was also a film-maker.

Notable ‘movies’ include a 5 hour movie titled ‘Sleep’. The 1964 premiere was attended by 9 people, 2 of whom walked out after the first hour. Like all of Warhol’s silent films, it was shot at 24 frames per second, but projected at 16 frames per second which results in a barely perceptible slow-motion effect. This effect, combined with the film’s 5 hour length challenges the audience’s patience, but can apparently create a Zen-like stillness for the viewer that makes even the slightest movements of the ‘sleeper’ seem like a revelation.⁴

5. Warhol was a devout Roman Catholic and attended mass daily.5

During an interview in 1975 Andy was asked if he had attended church that day. He replied telling the journalist that he had ‘popped in’ and that he took communion sometimes even though ‘I never feel that I do anything bad.’ He followed this up by saying, ‘I think it’s really pretty to go to church. The church I go to is a pretty church’⁶

Warhol was raised a Byzantine Catholic⁷; and is buried in the St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. In 1980 Andy Warhol met Pope John Paul II in Rome. He often explored themes of Catholicism and religion in his work and there were even plans for the Vatican to host a Warhol exhibition in 2019 but unfortunately these have currently gone on hold.⁸

6. Warhol was a music manager

Born out of Warhol’s desire to make art in as many different mediums as possible, he worked with The Velvet Underground⁹ to create a discordant mixture of sounds to create their first album. While the record didn’t sell many copies, it is still considered to be one of the most influential albums in modern rock music. As well as directing music videos, he also created iconic album covers for The Rolling Stones and Aretha Franklin.

After Warhol died in 1987, two of his musical proteges, Lou Reed and John Cale, decided to make an entire album dedicated to his memory. The album, ‘Songs for Drella’¹⁰ was a nod to their affectionate nickname for Warhol – Drella (a combination of Dracula and Cinderella) The album examines Warhol’s life and the way he changed the lives of the people he met whilst the album title conveys the often documented Jekyll and Hyde-like nature of his personality.

7. Andy Warhol was shot 3 times

In 1968 Andy’s thriving career almost came to a premature end when he was shot by aspiring writer, Valerie Solanas¹¹. Earlier she had appeared in one of Warhol’s films and was reportedly upset with him over his refusal to use a script she had written. After the shooting, Solanas was arrested and later pleaded guilty to the crime. Warhol spent weeks in a New York hospital recovering from his injuries and underwent several subsequent surgeries. As a result of the injuries he sustained, he had to wear a surgical corset for the rest of his life.

8. David Bowie wrote a song about Warhol, which the artist didn’t like!

Imagine a young Bowie early on in his career when he is still yet to crack America. He had written a song titled ‘Andy Warhol’ which features on his Hunky Dory album which he was eager to play to the famous artist. Apparently the first meeting of the two men didn’t go well. The actor Tony Zanetta¹² remarked “Warhol didn’t say anything but absolutely hated it…remember, David Bowie was not a big star. He was just some guy off the street as far as Andy Warhol was concerned.”

9. Andy Warhol’s magazine inspired the prequel to Sex and the City

Interview magazine, founded by Andy Warhol and John Wilcock in 1969 has been nicknamed ‘The Crystal Ball of Pop’ because it features interviews across all genres of the creative arts. In its infancy, the magazine was distributed free of charge to the ‘in-crowd’. Latterly, the magazine featured in the TV series ‘The Carrie Diaries’ a prequel to the hit series Sex and the City. The monthly magazine, considered to be a major venture in the history of publishing¹³ is considered to be continuing the tradition that Andy Warhol first created.

10. Andy owned more than 40 wigs

Suffering from baldness at such a young age Andy changed his image throughout his life with a variety of wigs. Warhol was so fearful that his wigs would fly off, he would use strong glues to secure them to his head. During a book signing in October 1985, a woman took her chance and tore Warhol’s silver wig off. Andy later described it as “the day my biggest nightmare came true…It was so shocking. It hurt. Physically,”

Whether you’ve bought an original Warhol or a print from Wayfair – some things you need to know about insurance for what’s on your walls….

The sum of its parts

When asked about their artwork, it is common for policy holders to dismiss this because they believe they haven’t got individual pieces of high value. Unfortunately this thought process often leads to underinsurance. Even if you don’t have a Warhol on your wall, you need to think about the total value of all pieces in your house; how many rooms do you have? how many pictures do you have in each room? what is their average value? Even if you don’t spend a lot on individual pieces, the overall total can quickly mount up!

Inner limits apply

As well as a limit on the value of individual pieces, don’t forget that a Home insurance policy will normally have a cap on the maximum total value of artwork in the house. Furthermore, this limit will incorporate a wider variety of items, not just the pieces on your walls) for example, antiques, jewellery, watches and items made of precious metal Even if your total ‘Contents sum insured’ is very high, such an inner limit will normally still apply and can be exceeded very easily once you’ve totted up the value of all these items. If you don’t know what terms apply, we are happy to assist you.

You have to insure it, even if you don’t want to

Often the value of artwork is more sentimental, than monetary. It’s also not unusual that policyholders don’t want to protect their artwork, because they are items that they don’t personally attribute value to and/or wouldn’t bother replacing. Both reasons can lead to some deciding not to include them on their home insurance policy. Unfortunately, your insurer is unlikely to be happy with that, with policies including clauses that require you to insure for ‘full value’. If you fail to do so, you could find that you fall foul of certain clauses or the policy could be invalid. Always make sure to declare the full value of all contents and if there are certain groups of items you don’t want to insure, discuss this with your adviser. You may find that the insurer will allow you to exclude them from the policy, but they will only do so by specific agreement.

Art is cheaper to insure than your carpets

Insurers actually consider most art work as lower risk than ‘general contents’, such as carpets, laptops and tablets. Pictures and paintings are normally less theft attractive and claims for accidental damage are far less frequent. If your policy is one that will allow you to differentiate between these groups of items, you will normally pay less per £1,000 of cover under the section for art work than you will for insuring your personal effects and general furniture.