A Landmark Exhibition
Andy Warhol at the ICA
Andy Warhol saw his first North American museum exhibition held at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia in 1965. The retrospective proved to be a landmark show, defining not only Warhol’s career but also propelling him to a level of stardom previously unheard of for contemporary artists. Samuel Green, director of the ICA at the time, worked tirelessly to bring the show together, painting the floor of the gallery silver to match the floor in Warhol’s factory, writing to Campbell’s Soup to ask for labels to use as invitations to the show and lastly, in a move to offset the budget overrun, commissioning Warhol to create a run of ‘S&H Green Stamps’ prints to offer for sale to the public. The edition became the start of the ICA’s annual benefit print program, publishing editioned works by some of today’s most sought after artists and the show itself provided the ICA with a platform to promote the careers of other up and coming artists.
