Warhol was born in Pittsburg Pennsylvania. He was the son of immigrants from Slovakia. Warhol's father was a coal miner. His father died when he was 13. He studied commercial art at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He bagan his career as a commerical artist doing work for advertising in New York of the 1950's. By the late 50's he began to exhibit ihis work. He was criticized for depicting commercial products in his art like his famous drawing of a Cambell Soup. By the mid 60's he was considered the leader in the field of pop art,. He was genius at attracting and manipulating media attention, Warhol is credited with the prediction that, "In the future, everybody will be famous for 15 minutes."

His own fame has lasted considerably longer, and his work remains immediately recognizable and still in high demand.