© Patrick McMullan
And now it’s time for a Modelinia history lesson: At the mention of Andy Warhol’s name, the first thing that comes to mind for many is an image of the quirky artist dressed in black with those poindexter glasses and white hair, or any of his infamous paintings like his Marilyn Monroe series or the cover of the Velvet Underground’s classic album. But did you know that before he became the leader of the pop art movement he worked as an illustrator for Harper’s Bazaar from 1951 to 1964?
Last night Glenda Bailey, editor in chief of the magazine behemoth, hosted a preview of the artist’s work with the glossy in an exhibition titled “Andy Warhol: The Bazaar Years 1951-1964″ at the Alexey Brodovitch Gallery in Hearst Tower. Since magazine archiving has changed dramatically in the last 50-plus years, most of the work on display had never been seen since its original publication. Fashion insiders showed up to marvel at how his genius translated onto HB’s pages, among them V Magazine’s Steven Gan, IMG’s Fern Mallis, the Ruffian boys, Tory Burch, and Behnaz Sarafpour. Everyone sipped on champagne and wine while taking in the lost images, and Campbell’s tomato soup was at the ready to play up the Andy kitsch.
Considering the time of these images’ publication, we’re seriously impressed with HB’s intuitiveness for taking a chance on the artist: The illustrations Andy created for its pages were so radical and avant garde for its time they could be used in any fashion glossy today and still be considered high art. Bravo, HB, for giving the pop icon the creative freedom to display some of his early experiments within the confines of your covers.
Even models Zuzana Gregorova and Maryna Linchuk stopped by to take in the beauty of Andy’s work. Perhaps perusing the prints in hopes to purchase to decorate their homes? ~ Jessica Mahler
