In 1950s New York, before he became one of the most famous names of the 20th century, Andy Warhol was already a skilled and successful commercial artist. During this time, as part of his strategy to woo clients and forge friendships, he created seven handmade artist\u2019s books, reserved to his most valued contacts. These featured personal, unique drawings and quirky texts revealing his fondness for\u2014among other subjects\u2014cats, food, myths, shoes, beautiful boys, and gorgeous girls.<\/p>\n
Decades later, with originals now changing hands for thousands of dollars at auction, TASCHEN presents an immaculate portfolio of these seven books, five of which have never before been republished, beautifully packaged together for the very first time and replicating Warhol\u2019s originals as closely as possible down to the format, dimensions, and paper stock. With titles such as Love Is a Pink Cake<\/em>, 25 Cats Named Sam<\/em>, and \u00c0 la Recherche du Shoe Perdu<\/em>, the series reveals the artist\u2019s off-the-wall character as well as his accomplished draftsmanship, boundless creativity, and innuendo-laced humor.<\/p>\n The seven books make delightful play with styles and genres as much as with design, materials, and formats. The lithograph portfolio A Is for Alphabet<\/em> devotes a page to each letter of the alphabet, with illustrations complemented by stumbling three-line verses that tell of strange encounters between man and animal. In the Bottom of My Garden<\/em> is at once a Warhol twist on a children\u2019s book and a covert celebration of gay love. Wild Raspberries<\/em>, meanwhile, is a spoof cookbook with a cornucopia of adventurous recipes on 19 portrait-format pages of instructions and illustrations.<\/p>\n This colorful portfolio is supplemented by an XL-sized, 56-page guidebook introducing each of Warhol\u2019s illustrations. Complete with rarely seen photographs of the artist, inspirational ephemera, and commercial assignments, it contextualizes Warhol\u2019s 1950s art, offering a glimpse into his early creative process as well as his endearing, playful character.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Foundation is delighted to collaborate with TASCHEN to introduce Warhol\u2019s whimsical books from the 1950s. These rarely seen gems provide a unique perspective on one of the world\u2019s most fascinating artists,\u201d says Michael Dayton Hermann, Director of Licensing of the Andy Warhol Foundation.<\/p>\n Little-known, much-coveted jewels in the Warhol crown, these hand-drawn delights are as appealing and original today as they were back in the halcyon days of the 1950s and offer a unique glimpse at a budding genius on the cusp of global fame.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 1950s New York, before he became one of the most famous names of the 20th century, Andy Warhol was already a skilled and successful commercial artist. During this time, as part of his strategy to woo clients and forge friendships, he created seven handmade artist\u2019s books, reserved to his most valued contacts. These featured…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":37183,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[4522,13533],"product_tag":[10664,1702,11977,6180,1649],"class_list":{"0":"post-37122","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-art-en","7":"product_cat-books","8":"product_tag-america-en","9":"product_tag-artists","10":"product_tag-books-en","11":"product_tag-drawing","12":"product_tag-illustration","13":"pa_author_att-nina-schleif-en","14":"pa_author_att-reuel-golden-en","15":"pa_cover-hardcover","16":"pa_format-346-x-475-cm-en","17":"pa_isbn-9783836562096-en","18":"pa_language-eng-f-ger","19":"pa_pages-284-en","20":"pa_published-2017-11-10-en","21":"pa_publisher-taschen-en-en","23":"first","24":"outofstock","25":"sold-individually","26":"shipping-taxable","27":"purchasable","28":"product-type-simple"},"yoast_head":"\n