HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILIP PEARLSTEIN
Philip Pearlstein, who turned 96 on May 24, is one of the most renowned figurative painters of the 20th century. However, he is also famous for being Andy Warhol's roommate, as they both came to New York together from Pittsburgh. In a review of Blake Gopnik's definitive new Warhol biography, in ARTNEWS Alex Greenberger writes,
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Artist Philip Pearlstein may have inspired the “15 minutes” aphorism.Gopnik’s book puts forward a possible origin story for one of Warhol’s most famous one-liners: “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” Gopnik traces that comment back to something said by artist Philip Pearlstein, a fellow Pittsburgher, back in the 1940s, when he and Warhol were friends. Before being drafted to fight in World War II, Pearlstein had received top prizes in juried art exhibitions for his work. Pearlstein told Gopnik that Warhol asked how it felt to be famous, to which Pearlstein responded, “It only lasted five minutes.” Gopnik calls into question whether this gave way “15 minutes..."
