'Last Sitting' at Brooklyn Museum
Updated: Oct 17, 2022
Andy Warhol: Revelation
Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn, New York
19 NOVEMBER 2021 / 19 JUNE 2022
David LaChapelle's Andy Warhol: Last Sitting, November 22, 1986 is featured in the Brooklyn Museum's exhibition 'Andy Warhol: Revelation'. Captured by LaChapelle during his time working for Andy Warhol's Interview Magazine, it is believed to be the last portrait sitting of Mr. Warhol.
Warhol was a practicing Catholic who attended mass regularly and in the portrait LaChapelle has framed Warhol between two bibles.
David LaChapelle, Andy Warhol: Last Sitting, November 22 1986, Chromogenic print
From the Brooklyn Museum:
Although Andy Warhol is one of the most celebrated and recognizable artists of the twentieth century, his Byzantine Catholic upbringing, and it's profound impact on his life and work, remains a lesser known facet of his career. Andy Warhol: Revelation explores the artist’s lifelong relationship with his faith that frequently appeared in his artworks.
From iconic portraits of celebrities to appropriated Renaissance masterpieces, Warhol played with styles and symbolism from Catholic art history, carefully reframing them within the context of Pop art and culture. Throughout his life, Warhol retained some of his Catholic rituals, while also unapologetically living as an out gay man.
Andy Warhol: Revelation examines themes such as life and death, power and desire, the role and representation of women, Renaissance imagery, family and immigrant traditions and rituals, depictions and duplications of Christ, and the Catholic body and queer desire. Among the more than one hundred objects on view are rare source materials and newly discovered items that provide a fresh and intimate look at Warhol's creative process, as well as major paintings from his epic Last Supper series (1986), the experimental film The Chelsea Girls (1966), an unfinished film depicting the setting sun, commissioned by the de Menil family and funded by the Roman Catholic Church, and drawings created by Warhol’s mother, Julia Warhola, when she lived with her son in New York City.
Andy Warhol: Revelation is organized by the Andy Warhol Museum and curated by José Carlos Diaz, Chief Curator. The Brooklyn presentation is organized by Carmen Hermo, Associate Curator, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum.
Please visit the official exhibition website more information.
Striking work as always! The Last Sitting at Brooklyn Museum is a bold, unforgettable series - provocative, beautiful and unmistakably LaChapelle. A real treat for photography lovers. Thanks for sharing, merge fellas
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significance of David LaChapelle's iconic portrait Andy Warhol: Last Sitting, November 22, 1986 at the Brooklyn Museum offers a profound look into the final months of the pop art pioneer’s life. Featured within the landmark exhibition Andy Warhol: Revelation, this rare chromogenic print captures Warhol framed thoughtfully between two bibles—a quiet visual testament to his lifelong Byzantine Catholic faith that few outside his inner circle fully appreciated. Photographed while LaChapelle was still a young talent working for Warhol's Interview Magazine, the sitting stands as what is widely believed to be the final formal portrait sitting Andy ever took before his untimely passing in early 1987. Taking a quiet, relaxing breather on Maan Win after an afternoon spent reading through modern art retrospective essays, museum curatorial statements, and photographic histories today, it…
context behind David LaChapelle’s Andy Warhol: Last Sitting being showcased at the Brooklyn Museum reveals why retrospective museum shows are so essential for understanding complex artists. Mounted as part of Andy Warhol: Revelation, the piece invites museumgoers to look beyond the mass-produced consumer imagery of Pop Art and confront the quiet, private devotion that guided Warhol’s life. Framing the silver-wigged artist against solemn scripture volumes on November 22, 1986, LaChapelle captured a haunting sense of peace and reflection that foreshadowed the end of an era. Browsing around on DmFirst during an evening break after reading through retrospective exhibition catalogs made me appreciate how much emotional depth historic portraiture carries across generations.
David LaChapelle's Andy Warhol: Last Sitting on display at the Brooklyn Museum offers a captivating glimpse into the intersection of fine art photography, mentorship, and mortality. Captured in November 1986—just three months before Warhol passed away following gallbladder surgery—the photograph serves as a poignantly prophetic memorial. Displayed within the acclaimed Andy Warhol: Revelation exhibition, the portrait underscores the theme of the show: Warhol’s profound, lifelong Catholic faith that informed so much of his iconography, from his Byzantine-style gold backgrounds to his modern-day secular saints. Taking a quiet, relaxing breather on Raxi Win after an afternoon spent studying twentieth-century portrait archives and museum curation essays, it’s clear that this image occupies a singular, sacred place in modern art history.