Unseen: Permanent Collection Works

A square canvas painted red in a black frame. — Andy Warhol, *Red "Blank"*, ca. 1963, © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

For immediate release

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

The Andy Warhol Museum announces Unseen: Permanent Collection Works, on view November 2, 2023 – March 4, 2024.

The more than 60 works in Unseen have never been displayed since they entered The Warhol’s collection. Some represent riffs on or experiments with well-known Warhol images. Others are previously unshown examples of larger series depicting images that were of importance to Warhol.

The fact that these works have never been shown reflects the enormity of the museum’s collection and the complexity of Warhol’s legacy. Changing tastes of successive museum administrations means that certain objects have been either favored or overlooked. The explicit sexual content of some of the works has also contributed to them not being publicly displayed. Most importantly, the unseen nature of these works reflects the fact that there is always something new to learn about Andy Warhol and his work.

“The Warhol staff works every day with an extraordinary collection that continues to surprise and confound. Unseen is an opportunity for the museum to delve into areas of the collection that are new even to us,” said Patrick Moore, director of The Warhol. “These are objects that are both esthetically beautiful and that have stories to tell. We’re proud to share them with the public for the first time.”

Extensive research on the works in the exhibition has revealed many previously unknown facts, which have raised both additional awareness of the collection and of Warhol’s practices and intentions. These findings will also be part of the exhibition.

To complement the exhibition, a schedule of public programs is being organized and will be announced at a later date.

Unseen: Permanent Collection Works is curated by Patrick Moore, director of The Warhol, with the support of Matt Gray, director of archives, Signe Watson, independent researcher, and The Warhol collections and exhibition department.

A press preview of the exhibition that includes a tour with Patrick Moore, director of The Warhol, will take place on November 2 at 2 p.m. at The Warhol. Reservations are required. Email press@warhol.org.

Unseen: Permanent Collection Works is made possible through support provided by the Curatorial Vision Fund. Leadership support for the Curatorial Vision Fund is provided by Jim Spencer and Michael Lin, and Scott M. Mory.

The Warhol receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; and The Heinz Endowments. Further support is provided by the Allegheny Regional Asset District.

The Andy Warhol Museum

Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the place of Andy Warhol’s birth, The Andy Warhol Museum holds the largest collection of Warhol’s artworks and archival materials and is one of the most comprehensive single-artist museums in the world. The Warhol is one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Established in 1895 by Andrew Carnegie, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh is a collection of four distinctive museums: Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Science Center, and The Andy Warhol Museum. The museums reach more than 1.4 million people a year through exhibitions, educational programs, outreach activities, and special events.

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