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Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts

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Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Formation1987
FounderAndy Warhol
TypeNonprofit organization
PurposeSupport for contemporary visual arts
HeadquartersNew York City, U.S.
Key people
Joel Wachs (president)
Websitewarholfoundation.org

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts is an American nonprofit organization established in 1987 following the death of Pop artist Andy Warhol. Created in accordance with Warhol's will, the foundation serves as the artist's estate and supports contemporary visual arts through grants, exhibitions, publications, and other initiatives focused on experimental and innovative artistic expression.[1]

The foundation is among the largest grant-giving organizations for the visual arts in the United States.[2] It also oversees the publication of the Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné and has donated thousands of works by Warhol to the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.[3]

History

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Andy Warhol's will stipulated that his entire estate, aside from modest bequests to his business manager, Fred Hughes, and two brothers, John Warhola and Paul Warhola, be used to establish a foundation dedicated to the visual arts.[4] Following his death in February 1987, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts was formally established to administer Warhol's estate and advance its mission of fostering innovative artistic expression and the creative process, particularly challenging and experimental work.[5][1]

In 1988, Sotheby's auctioned contents from the collection of Andy Warhol over a 10-day period, generating approximately $25.3 million for the foundation.[6][7]

In 1995, the foundation established the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board, an advisory body created to evaluate and determine the authenticity of works attributed to Warhol. The board became the subject of several lawsuits brought by collectors disputing its decisions. Although the foundation prevailed in the cases, litigation costs reportedly totaled around $10 million.[2] In 2012, the board was dissolved.[8] Foundation president Joel Wachs stated that the decision would allow the organization to focus its resources on supporting artists rather than legal disputes.[9]

Activities

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The Andy Warhol Foundation provides grants and support to museums, arts organizations, curators, and artists throughout the United States and internationally. It is considered one of the largest private funders of contemporary visual art in the United States.[1]

In 2007, the foundation marked its 20th anniversary with the publication of a three-volume annual report documenting its history, grants, exhibitions, and legacy programs: Vol. I, 1987–2007; Vol. II, Grants & Exhibitions; and Vol. III, Legacy Program.[10]

The foundation has donated more than 3,000 works of art and archival materials to the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, which houses the largest collection of Warhol's art and archives.[11]

Catalogue raisonnés

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The Andy Warhol Foundation oversees publication of The Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné: Paintings, Sculptures, and Drawings, a multi-volume scholarly catalogue documenting Warhol's paintings and sculptures.[12] The project was initiated in 1977 by Swiss art dealer Thomas Ammann while Warhol was still alive.[13] After Ammann's death in 1993, his sister Doris Ammann continued the project in collaboration with the Andy Warhol Foundation and Phaidon Press, resulting in the publication of Paintings and Sculptures 1961–1963 in 2002 and Paintings and Sculptures 1964–1969 in 2004.[13][14] Since then, the foundation has assumed full stewardship of the catalogue and continued publishing subsequent volumes with Phaidon.[13] The sixth volume was published in 2024, with a seventh in preparation and three additional volumes on Warhol's 1980s work planned.[15]

List of volumes:

  • Volume 1: Paintings and Sculpture 1961-1963
  • Volume 2: Paintings and Sculptures 1964-1969
  • Volume 3: Paintings and Sculptures 1970-1974
  • Volume 4: Paintings late 1974-1976
  • Volume 5: Paintings 1976-1978
  • Volume 6: Paintings and Sculptures mid-1977-1980
  • Volume 7: Paintings late 1979-1981

The foundation has also provided significant financial support for several major Warhol reference publications, including Andy Warhol Prints: A Catalogue Raisonné 1962–1987 (2003), Andy Warhol Screen Tests: The Films of Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné, Volume 1 (2006), and The Films of Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné: Volume 2, 1963–1965 (2021).[16][17][18]

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The Artists Rights Society serves as the United States copyright representative for the Andy Warhol Foundation for most works by Warhol.[19] Rights for Warhol film stills are administered by the Andy Warhol Museum.[20]

The foundation has also entered into agreements governing Warhol image licensing and archival materials. Digital images of Warhol have been managed through agreements with Corbis, while transparency images have been managed by Art Resource.[20]

Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith

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Main article: Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith

The Andy Warhol Foundation was involved in the United States Supreme Court case Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith, which concerned the doctrine of fair use in copyright law. The dispute arose from Warhol's 1984 silkscreen portraits of musician Prince, which were based on a 1981 photograph taken by photographer Lynn Goldsmith.[21]

After Prince died in 2016, the foundation licensed one of Warhol's Prince images to Vanity Fair for a commemorative magazine cover.[22] Goldsmith subsequently argued that the use infringed upon her copyright.[23] The foundation filed a preemptive lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that Warhol's works constituted fair use, while Goldsmith countersued for copyright infringement.[24]

In 2019, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of the foundation, finding that Warhol's works were transformative and constituted fair use.[24] The decision was reversed in 2021 by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which held that the works were not sufficiently transformative to qualify for fair use protection.[23]

On May 18, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled 7–2 against the foundation, holding that the commercial licensing of Warhol's image to a magazine did not qualify as fair use because it shared substantially the same commercial purpose as Goldsmith's original photograph.[25] The decision was widely regarded as a significant ruling affecting appropriation art and the application of fair use in contemporary art practice.[26][27][28]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "About the Foundation". The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  2. ^ a b Kennedy, Randy (October 19, 2011). "Warhol Foundation Ends Authentication Board". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  3. ^ "Collection". The Andy Warhol Museum. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  4. ^ Gopnik, Blake (2020). Warhol. Internet Archive. New York, NY: ECCO, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 911. ISBN 978-0-06-229839-3.
  5. ^ Glueck, Grace (1987-02-26). "$15 Million Warhol Estate to Create a Foundation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  6. ^ Muchnic, Suzanne (1988-05-05). "Andy Warhol's 10 Days of Fame". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  7. ^ Tully, Judd (1988-05-03). "SOTHEBY'S $25 MILLION NIGHT". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  8. ^ Burns, Charlotte (October 20, 2011). "Warhol foundation shuts its authentication board". The Art Newspaper. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  9. ^ Vogel, Carol (October 19, 2011). "Warhol Foundation Ends Authentication Board". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  10. ^ The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts (2007). The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts 1987–2007 (PDF). New York City: The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. ISBN 978-0-9765263-1-5. OCLC 180133918. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 19, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  11. ^ The Andy Warhol Museum, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, archived from the original on July 15, 2017, retrieved May 10, 2026
  12. ^ "Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné". The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  13. ^ a b c Yerebakan, Osman Can (2022-11-08). "Warhol Foundation receives gift of archival documents and catalogue raisonné from Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  14. ^ Danto, Arthur C. (2002-09-01). "The Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné". Artforum. Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  15. ^ Polsky, Richard. "Out Now: The Latest Volume of the Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné". MyArtBroker. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  16. ^ "Andy Warhol Prints: A Catalogue Raisonne: 1962-1987". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  17. ^ Taubin, Amy (2006-04-01). "Andy Warhol". Artforum. Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  18. ^ Angeleti, Gabriella (2021-10-25). "The Whitney gives vast Andy Warhol research archive to MoMA". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  19. ^ "Warhol Foundation Image Rentals". Artists Rights Society. Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  20. ^ a b "Licensing Information". The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  21. ^ Harris, Elizabeth A. (May 18, 2023). "Supreme Court Rules Against Andy Warhol Foundation". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  22. ^ Minnebach, Guy (2017-02-28). "Prince, Jacko and the Fab Four on a cover (but not of a record)". Andy Earhole. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  23. ^ a b Gopnik, Blake (2021-04-05). "Warhol a Lame Copier? The Judges Who Said So Are Sadly Mistaken". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  24. ^ a b Press, The Associated (2019-07-02). "Andy Warhol's 'Prince Series' Is Fair Use, Court Rules". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  25. ^ Liptak, Adam (2023-05-18). "Supreme Court Rules Against Andy Warhol in Copyright Case". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  26. ^ Gopnik, Adam (2023-05-25). "How Warhol Turned the Supreme Court Justices Into Art Critics". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  27. ^ Gopnik, Blake (2023-03-01). "The Supreme Court May Force Us to Rethink 500 Years of Art". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  28. ^ "Opinion | Andy Warhol and 'Fair Use' in Art". The New York Times. 2023-06-27. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
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