Bob Colacello

August 1973 · Photograph

May one see it?

Not receiving at present

Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked: 2 days ago
In this state since: Aug 19, 2026
Source: The museum's own collection data

On the map Museum page

About the work

In the early 1970s, at the height of his fame, Andy Warhol began producing staged Polaroid portraits of celebrities, friends, and casual acquaintances, many of them studies for his commissioned silkscreen prints and paintings. His tool of choice was a Polaroid Big Shot, an instant film camera fitted with a fixed focal length that made it ideal for portraiture. Warhol often took multiple photographs of his subjects in order to capture their behavioral nuances. The tightly cropped format and a camera-mounted flash reduced features to flat planes and abstract shapes, making the images perfect for use in the silkscreen process. The sitter featured here, Bob Colacello, writer and former editor of Warhol's Interview magazine, recalled that the artist tried to convince him to change his name to Bob Cola, as this "pop" reference would lend itself to fame.

Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0

Particulars

Accession number: 2008.327

In the catalog

Pop Art United States

Sources

Art Institute of Chicago: the museum's own open data · fetched 6 days ago
Image: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder

Meanwhile, in the life of Andy Warhol

The whole life

1970–1971
The retrospective from Pasadena to the Whitney
In 1970 the Pasadena Art Museum organised a Warhol retrospective that travelled on to Chicago, Eindhoven, Paris, London and, in 1971, the Whitney Museum in New York. At the Whitney the Cow wallpaper (1966) served as the backdrop for the paintings.
c. 1971 – 1974
More and more often in Paris
Warhol began travelling to Europe more often and grew especially fond of Paris after filming L'Amour (1972); he kept an apartment on the Left Bank, on Rue du Cherche-Midi, shared with Fred Hughes. In Paris his circle socialised with Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent, Loulou de la Falaise and Paloma Picasso.
1973
Diagnosis: a gallstone
In 1973 Warhol was diagnosed with a gallstone but adamantly refused surgery because he feared hospitals. His physician Denton Cox tried to obtain an experimental medication from Japan, while a chiropractor and a nutritionist suggested he wear a small crystal.
1975
“The Philosophy of Andy Warhol” is published
The book The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B & Back Again) appeared in 1975; in September Warhol set out on a U.S. book tour for it, followed by stops in Italy, France and England.

All works