WARHOL HIS ART ON HIS SLEEVE

The LP covers of Andy Warhol. By Richard Forrest

The white cover with the big yellow banana. Everyone instantly recognises The Velvet Underground & Nico. Few sleeves have become cover art classics to the same degree and even fewer covers are so well known that you could name the artist behind them. But the banana album was not the only record that Andy Warhol designed or illustrated. His career in cover art stretched over 40 years from the birth of the LP in 1949. By the time of his death in February 1987 he had produced artwork and ideas for more than 60 covers.

Warhol’s art continues to fascinate and exhibitions of his work occur frequently. However, Warhol’s record illustrations fail to receive nearly as much attention. There has never been an official list of all the covers he is known to be associated with. Andy would have celebrated his 80th birthday this year, which seems as good an excuse as any to compile it.

IN THE BEGINNING

In 1939 Andrew Warhola was 11 years old and still at Schenley High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1945 and went to the Carnegie Institute of Technology to study commercial illustration. It was here that he developed his blotted line’ drawing technique, which would grace many of his record cover illustrations in the 40s and …

by Richard Forrest
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