20 Things You Didn't Know About Andy Warhol

There's more to the man than soup cans.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Arguably the most iconic artist and creator of his era, Andy Warhol transformed the world around him. He managed to take images of ordinary objects and make them worth millions, he lead the pop art movement, and he blended the art scene into the realm of Hollywood and celebrity.

From pillows to apparel, canvas tote bags, posters, and skate decks, Andy Warhol's imagery is almost everywhere. He is best known for his pop art prints such as the Campbell's soup can, but just like Pablo Picasso and Jean-Michel Basquiat, the artist's private life is somewhat unknown. To pay our respects to him on the anniversary of his death, here are 20 Things You Didn't Know About Andy Warhol.

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Andy Warhol was excluded from his high school's art club because he was better than the other members.

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Warhol adopted his gray-haired look while in his 20s so that people would notice how young he looked. He would eventually dye his hair silver.

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Warhol had a nose job when he was 29 to remove the rounded contour of the facial feature he hated most.

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Warhol's mother was the first to encourage her son to make art. She often contributed artistically to Warhol's paintings and would sometimes sign them for him.

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Warhol was the first artist to publicly exhibit video art.

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As part of his religious upbringing, Warhol frequently volunteered at homeless shelters in New York City, especially during the busiest times of the year.

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Warhol compulsively recorded his conversations and referred to his tape recorder as his "wife." His play, Pork, was based on his tape recordings.

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Aside from pop art, Warhol started Interview magazine, opened a night club and created two cable TV shows, Andy Warhol's TV and Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes, for MTV.

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Warhol enjoyed eating alone and wanted to open a chain of restaurants called ANDY-MATS, "the restaurant for the lonely person."

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It took Andy Warhol 23 minutes to paint a BMW M1 in 1977, the most well-known design of the artist car series. He ran his fingers through the paint to leave a personal touch.

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