The tradition of portrait painting has retained its undisputed relevance as an influential factor and means of expression in prestigious art from antiquity to the contemporary era. Fascinated by the commercialisation of society, Andy Warhol also made use of the portrait genre. His colourful serial screen-prints reflected American society, capitalism and mass culture, blurring the boundaries between high and popular culture.

The exhibition ‘Andy Warhol – Portraits’ presents portraits of well-known personalities across diverse cultures, including Goethe, Lenin, Jackie Kennedy, Mick Jagger and Marilyn Monroe; a second curatorial focus provides a complex insight into the American artist’s private life and ideas. Here, there is particular emphasis on the close creative collaboration between Warhol and the Klüser Gallery, as well as his collegial admiration for Joseph Beuys, whom he first met at Hans Mayer Gallery Düsseldorf in May 1979. Although Warhol’s work contrasted in almost every respect with the German artist’s conceptual and performative approach, he appreciated Beuys’ radical and unconventional approach and the gravity with which he addressed social and political issues. The bridge between the two artists and their affiliation with Bernd Klüser was underlined by the exhibition ‘Joseph Beuys by Andy Warhol’ at Galerie Klüser in May 1980. It was also demonstrated retrospectively in the memorial show ‘BEUYS zu Ehren’ realised at the Lenbachhaus – on Bernd Klüser’s initiative – to mark the artist’s death in 1986. Andy Warhol created two monumental Beuys camouflage portraits and a print on that occasion. The following year, 1987, Andy Warhol himself died unexpectedly after a gall bladder operation in New York – two days before the planned opening of ‘Lenin by Warhol’ at Galerie Klüser. ‘Andy Warhol – Portraits’ pays tribute to one of the most important artists of the 20th century, offering an opportunity to see portraits by Andy Warhol, some of which have never been shown before, and documenting the synergies of a long-standing collaboration with the Klüser family. The prints of the portraits of Beuys, Goethe, Lenin and Botticelli’s Venus have been published by Edition Schellmann & Klüser.