Twenty years after his untimely death in 1987, Pittsburgh native Andy Warhol is still largely misunderstood by both the general public and arts-and-humanities scholars.

This presentation, by an insider of the Warhol circle and a close friend of the Warhola family, will consider Andy's art and life within the context of art history and art criticism. It will show that, while his Pop subjects, dramatic persona, and renowned Factory revolutionized the art world in the 1960's, many of his themes and techniques represent modernized versions of well-established artistic traditions, and many of the criticisms of Warhol and his work by contemporary writers are nearly verbatim to those leveled against such revered old masters as Rembrandt and Caravaggio in earlier times.

Images: Andy in the Silver Factory by Billy Name, 1964; Andy Warhol with niece Mary Lou and nephew Jamie Warhola in 1963 (photograph courtesy of Mary Lou Simpson)