Artist Stories

A Strange Story about Andy Warhol and Plastic Surgeries

Zuzanna Stańska 6 August 2023 min Read

Andy Warhol was obsessed with the idea of turning into a machine which, partially, led to his slight addiction to plastic surgeries. The father of Pop Art even famously said: “I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They’re so beautiful. Everything’s plastic, but I love plastic. I want to be plastic!”

Portrait of Andy Warhol: plastic surgery
Christopher Makos, My Favorite Portrait of Andy Warhol, 1986. 1st Dibs.

The artist had his nose re-shaped when he was 29 to remove the rounded contour of the facial feature he hated most, wore a wig after losing all his hair as a young man, and had to wear a girdle to support his damaged stomach muscles after being shot in 1968.1  The person who shot him was Valerie Solans. Apart from the stomach wound, his interferences into his own appearance were voluntary; some critics connected his tendency for plastic surgeries with the artistic prase for consumerism stating that: “little about Warhol was real.”

 plastic surgery: Andy Warhol, Before and After, 1961, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA.
Andy Warhol, Before and After, 1961, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA.

Everyone has at least once heard about weird celebrities’ demands. Warhol was no exception, as he not only requested collagen injections in the middle of the night but also he did try to huggle with his plastic surgeon – Dr. Pamela Lipkin.

Andy Warhol, Cosmetic Surgery, 1985-1986.
Andy Warhol, Cosmetic Surgery, 1985-1986. Artnet.

Footnotes

1

“Andy Warhol’s plastic surgeon says the artist was cheap…”, Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ (accessed August 02, 2023).

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