This summer, an exciting new exploration of one of the 20th century’s most influential artists will give visitors a unique window into the life and work of Andy Warhol (1928-1987).
Different to other Warhol exhibitions, it offers a ‘behind the scenes’ perspective that may be surprising to those more familiar with the universally recognisable ‘man in a fright wig’ with his Marilyns, soup cans and dollar signs.
Opening at Newlands House Gallery, Andy Warhol: My True Story will feature an incredible array of exhibits, many previously publicly unseen, including drawings, prints, photographs, recordings, films, and archival paraphernalia.
Warhol asserted that if you wanted to know everything about him you just had to look at his work; that he was all about ‘surface’. However, this was far from the truth: He was both a deeply private man who did not wish to be known, and the public persona he created, with his wig, dark glasses, entourage, and celebrity party-going. In private he remained very close to his mother, Julia, who lived with him and kept their Carpatho-Rusyn cultural heritage alive. In public, Warhol hid behind soundbites and misleading and vague information, creating many versions of himself behind his smoke-and-mirrors facade. Claiming that he had always felt like an ‘outsider’, he was an inveterate observer, intensely curious about others and the world, ‘looking in’ on a public life he only really shared on the surface. It was these observations that fuelled his creativity, and his philosophical reflections on what he saw underpinned his work.
The exhibition’s curator, Professor Jean Wainwright, developed personal friendships with many members of Warhol’s family, his contemporaries, and the people he surrounded himself with at his Factories, interviewing them to elicit their stories about Warhol. Spending hundreds of hours in the 1990s listening through headphones to the now embargoed recordings Warhol made on the tape recorder that was his constant companion, also allowed her to develop a peculiarly intimate relationship with Warhol himself.
In Andy Warhol: My True Story we follow a unique journey which allows us to gain insight into the “real” Warhol: Through carefully selected Warhol drawings, artworks and artefacts together with previously unseen photographs by, and recordings with, his entourage and collaborators, this exhibition presents a more intimate and human side to Warhol as well as exposing some of the lesser known and enduring themes he explored in his art.
As we move through the exhibition we grow to understand more about his family origins, his journey into the art world, and the people he surrounded himself with: We see Warhol’s homage to art history, his drawings and screenprints, love of repetition and his very particular way of composing his art. We also see his powerful influence beyond the grave through the works of contemporary artists who have paid homage to Warhol and his enduring legacy.
Warhol’s early drawings reveal both his fascination with the ordinary and the way he processed and communicated his subject matter in his own particular style, developing themes which recur and evolve in his later work. The often imperfect drawings in this exhibition provide insight into Warhol’s thinking and process, and rare archival books bear witness to his close relationship with his mother, his illustrations often accompanied by Julia’s ornate calligraphy. Even his signature was sometimes crafted by her. A compelling and rarely seen film he made of his mother in 1966, when she was 75, The George Hamilton Story (Mrs Warhol), which was shot in her apartment kitchen within Warhol’s New York home, further reveals his relationship with her. An audio recording of his mother singing creates a particularly haunting atmosphere.
From drawings such as Man with Hearts and a fictitious One Million Dollar Bill, screenprints including Mona Lisa (Four times), and iconic photographs by those who were close to and documented him, like Bob Adelman’s Andy Warhol Empties his Boots after being Pushed into the Pool by Edie Sedgewick, we glimpse a very human Warhol experimenting with ideas and subject matter. His ability to creatively inspire others, even long after his death, is seen through artworks by contemporary artists such as David LaChapelle, Gavin Turk, Rob and Nick Carter, and Philip Colbert. His enduring “brand”, a manifestation of his prescient observations about the rise of consumerism, is exemplified through a plethora of Warhol-themed objects and memorabilia.
Through the intertwining of Warhol’s artworks with photographs, objects and artefacts, alongside films and reflective recordings with his relatives and contemporaries, this exciting exhibition reveals not only an elusive and fascinating man, but the influence that he still exerts on artists and his prescience in conveying a culture of populism and consumerism.
The exhibition In Newlands House takes advantage of the intimate spaces of an 18th Century townhouse, to create an atmosphere responding to the different ways that Warhol created work.
Curator Jean Wainwright says:
“This exhibition partly traces my own 30-year search for the truth behind the man, through his brothers, family and those who knew him best. In gathering different works from those often associated with him, I hope it reveals a tender, unusual and different side to the Warhol we are familiar with.”
Andy Warhol: My True Story follows the critically acclaimed 2024 Newlands House exhibition, Leonora Carrington: Rebel Visionary, which also sought to give visitors an unexpected view of an internationally recognised artist.
Newlands House Gallery Director Dr Loucia Manopoulou says,
“As Newlands House Gallery celebrates its 50th anniversary, we are delighted to present this landmark exhibition curated by expert Warhol scholar, Jean Wainwright. With her profound knowledge of Warhol, Wainwright’s curatorial intention is to unravel the artist’s public persona and unveil the man behind the legend. Through this deeply personal and reflective exhibition, visitors will gain fresh, unique insight into Warhol’s life and artistic legacy approached in a way never seen before.”
Andy Warhol: My True Story , 6th June – 14th September 2025, Newlands House
About
Jean Wainwright is a London-based art historian, critic and curator, and internationally recognised Warhol expert. Her work most prominently features interviews with international artists, photographers, filmmakers, and curators. As a writer and academic, her interviews can be found in numerous books, catalogues, monologues, and peer-reviewed journals, and she has appeared widely in the media, including national radio and television. A Professor of Contemporary Art and Photography at the University for the Creative Arts, Wainwright has a particular interest in authenticity in the artist interview and finding the artist’s “voice”.
Newlands House Gallery occupies a spacious Grade II listed Georgian townhouse and adjacent coach house in Petworth, West Sussex, in the heart of the South Downs. Spanning 7,500 square feet, the building was originally built for Dr. Newlands in the 18th century. The Gallery is inspired by the historic associations of Petworth and Sussex with great artists, writers and designers from times past. Running in parallel with exhibitions dedicated to modern and contemporary art, photography and design, the gallery’s annual cultural programme builds on the heritage of Petworth and the town’s reputation for excellence in music, literature and antiques. Petworth boasts one of the country’s largest art collections, housed in the National Trust’s Petworth House and Park, and sits at the centre of Sussex’s burgeoning cultural scene, spanning museums, art centres, festivals, vineyards, nature trails and stately homes. @newlands.house.gallery
