Andy Warhol was the hero of the Pop Art Culture in America. This movement was for the visual art category. Andy Warhol, born in 1928 on August 6^th, was also a producer and director in addition to being an American Pop Artist. 

The artist’s works explore the connection between advertising, artistic expression, and the celebrity culture, which thrived during the 1960s. Warhol's works encompass a variety of media, including silkscreen, film, painting, photography, and sculpture.

Among the artist’s best works are:

• Marilyn Diptych (1962),
• Campbell’s Soup Cans (the silkscreen paintings of 1962) 
•  Chelsea Girls (the experimental films of 1966)
• Exploding Plastic Inevitable (the multimedia events of 1966-67)

Warhol was born and brought up in Pittsburgh. He had initially pursued a career in commercial illustration. His work, exhibited during the 1950s in several galleries, earned him the reputation of an influential but controversial artist. 

He established his own studio in New York, which became a popular hub of Bohemian Street people, drag queens, distinguished intellectuals, playwrights, wealthy patrons, and Hollywood celebrities. Andy also gave rise to 'Warhol Superstars,' a collection of personalities. He is also given credit for initiating the popularly used expression "15 minutes of fame".

Warhol was most famous for his iconic paintings of Marilyn Monroe and Campbell's soup cans in Pop Art. As popular as the artist was, however, here are five unknown, interesting facts you might not have discovered yet about him.

Andy’s Nickname was Drella

Warhol was nicknamed 'Drella,' a portmanteau of Cinderella and Dracula. He was given this name by the industry's creative collaborator and his friends. Delving into Warhol's true thoughts was a difficult feat. This was due to his flippant and often insincere characteristics. His true inner self could just never be accurately gauged. For this reason, the portmanteau nickname was created to convey the Jekyll-Hyde, a passive-aggressive side of his personality. The Velvet Underground members, mainly two of them, even composed an album dedicated to Warhol's memory. They titled it 'Songs for Drella.'

Warhol Received a Grammy’s Award Nomination

Warhol had offered freelance commercial services to companies like the RCA Records, Columbia Records, and Harper's Bazaar during the 1950s and the 1960s. In addition to Velvet Underground, Andy also designed album artwork for Aretha Franklin, John Cale, and Rolling Stones. His ‘Sticky Fingers’ cover, for the album of Rolling Stones, was nominated in the Grammy’s for the Best Album Cover award in 1971. The image was a risqué one and unfortunately lost to the ‘Pollution’ brand. 

Addressed as a Loser by Truman Capote

The playwright, Truman Capote, did not reciprocate Warhol's admiration of Truman's lifestyle and work. In fact, the playwright was downright hostile towards the Pop artist. Capote had claimed that a pre-fame Andy had essentially stalked him and recalled a meeting the artist. Truman described Warhol then as "one of those people who are hopeless, and you know for sure that nothing good is ever going to come out of them. Just a useless, most friendless and loneliest born loser I have ever met in my life."

However, once Capote got over his initial impression of Warhol, he warmed to the artist later, and the two men were even seeing having occasional lunches and collaborating on a magazine called 'Interview'. Their relationship though, cannot be described as friendship. Frenemies would be a more suitable portmanteau description. It is reported that Warhol once commented on Capote's script as awful and also claimed that the author had become quite unfriendly and distant in 1980.

Andy Warhol was Nearly Murdered by a Radical Feminist

Warhol was shot by Valarie Solanas and Mario Amaya in 1968. Warhol fought to survive and spent two months hospitalized, recovering from the chest wounds. Solanas was a radical feminist author. She was an advocator of eliminating men and overthrowing governments. She was later diagnosed with schizophrenia and had also appeared in the film ‘I, a man’ by Warhol. 

Solanas shot at Warhol in retaliation for the excessive control she felt Warhol had taken over her life. While her attempt to kill him with a gun was not as successful, Warhol passed away due to a cardiac arrest in 1987. The heart attack came as a consequence of gallbladder surgery and is purported to be a complication caused by the gunshot wound. 

Andy Warhol Had Made His Own Cookbook- As Bizarre As Could Be

Warhol had also published his own cookbook when he teamed up with his friend Suzie Frankfurt in 1959. Suzie was an interior decorator, and together they created a cookbook called 'Wild Raspberries.' Suzie and Warhol of friends wrote recipes that were a direct mock for the genre of elegant and sophisticated French cookbooks.

The pair of friends wrote recipes for dishes such as Roast Iguana Andalusian, Omelet Greta Garbon (meant to be eaten alone), and Gefilte of Fighting Fish. The cookbook was a commercial flop despite the fact that cookbooks were handmade and featured 19 illustrations by Warhol.