Before there was Instagram, there was Warhol
Andy Warhol once said: “A picture means I know where I was every minute. That’s why I take pictures. It’s a visual diary.”
Much like how we use Instagram today, Warhol embraced Edwin H Land’s revolutionary invention – the Polaroid camera - to document life and its encounters. Over a period of three decades, he developed a treasure trove of tens of thousands of Polaroids. These glossy one-off instant photos depicted the stars of music, art, fashion and film.
A number of these Polaroids – the subject of a landmark new book from Taschen in collaboration with the Andy Warhol Foundation – are now on Artimage. They are available to license for a range of uses.
From Bacon to Dalí, Nureyev to Schwarzenegger, and Hepburn to Minnelli, many of these pictures became the starting point for Warhol’s most famous portraits and screen-prints.
Browse a selection of highlights below, or browse all Polaroids on Artimage here.
Warhol’s Polaroid highlights
Salvador Dalí, 1972:
Liza Minnelli, 1978:
Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith, c. 1972:
Julia Warhola, Warhol's home on Lexington Ave, 1970:
David Hockney, 1973:
Rudolf Nureyev, 1972:
Francis Bacon, 1975:
Audrey Hepburn, 1973:
David Bowie, 1971:
Arnold Schwarzenegger, 1977:
Princess Caroline of Monaco, 1983:
Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1982:
Campbell's Soup Can, 1981:
View related artworks
To license an image, submit a request online, email [email protected] or call 020 7553 9095 to speak with a member of our team.
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Images from top: Andy Warhol with Polaroid camera, c. 1972, Andy Warhol © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / DACS; Salvador Dali, 1972, Andy Warhol © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / DACS; Liza Minnelli, 1978, Andy Warhol © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / DACS; Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith, c. 1972, Andy Warhol © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / DACS; Julia Warhola, Warhol's home on Lexington Ave, 1970, Andy Warhol © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / DACS; David Hockney, 1973, Andy Warhol © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / DACS; Rudolf Nureyev, 1972, Andy Warhol © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / DACS; Francis Bacon, 1975, Andy Warhol © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / DACS; Audrey Hepburn, 1973, Andy Warhol © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / DACS; David Bowie, 1971, Andy Warhol © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / DACS; Arnold Schwarzenegger, 1977, Andy Warhol © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / DACS; Princess Caroline of Monaco, 1983, Andy Warhol © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / DACS; Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1982, Andy Warhol © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / DACS; Campbell's Soup Can, 1981, Andy Warhol © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / DACS.