Andy Warhol's Mother - (Russian and East European Studies) by Elaine Rusinko (Hardcover)

About the Book

The First Comprehensive Biography of Julia Warhola

Book Synopsis

While biographers of Andy Warhol have long recognized his mother as a significant influence on his life and art, Julia Warhola's story has not yet been told. As an American immigrant who was born in a small Carpatho-Rusyn village in Austria-Hungary in 1891, Julia never had the opportunity to develop her own considerable artistic talents. Instead, she worked and sacrificed so her son could follow his dreams, helping to shape Andy's art and persona. Julia famously followed him to New York City and lived with him there for almost twenty years, where she remained engaged in his personal and artistic life. She was well known as "Andy Warhol's mother," even developing a distinctive signature with the title that she used on her own drawings.

Exploring previously unpublished material, including Rusyn-language correspondence and videos, Andy Warhol's Mother provides the first in-depth look at Julia's hardscrabble life, her creative imagination, and her spirited personality. Elaine Rusinko follows Julia's life from the folkways of the Old Country to the smog of industrial Pittsburgh and the tumult of avant-garde New York. Rusinko explores the impact of Julia's Carpatho-Rusyn culture, Byzantine Catholic faith, and traditional worldview on her ultra-modern son, the quintessential American artist. This close examination of the Warhola family's lifeworld allows a more acute perception of both Andy and Julia while also illuminating the broader social and cultural issues that confronted and conditioned them.

Review Quotes

Behind many a great artist, there's some master who taught them and then fell into their shadow. Leonardo had Verrocchio, Jackson Pollock had Thomas Hart Benton--and Andy Warhol had Julia Warhola. In her important new biography of Warhol's mother, Elaine Rusinko lays out an amazingly complete picture of Warhola--of her life, in more detail by far than anyone else has come up with, but also of her very special artistic persona and the vast effect it had on her famous son.--Blake Gopnik, author of Warhol

Written in an engaging and accessible voice, it will be of interest to art historians and general readers.-- "Choice"

Rusinko has crafted not only a fascinating biography of the famed artist's mother, but also written a richly detailed cultural history of the Carpatho-Rusyn people.-- "Pittsburgh Magazine"

Though it is a biography of one person, Andy Warhol's Mother feels like a communal history.-- "Table Magazine"

From the folkways of Eastern Europe to the avant-garde streets of New York, Julia's world influenced everything from Warhol's soup cans to his iconic aesthetic. A compelling portrait of an unsung muse, this book deepens our understanding of Warhol's artistic roots and the woman who quietly stood behind the Pop artist.-- "ArtNet"

enlightening...-- "Publishers Weekly"

A persuasive look at a famous artist's maternal muse. The book's consideration of Warhola as a true folk artist with roots in Carpatho-Rusyn culture is its greatest contribution. Rusinko, a scholar of Carpatho-Rusyn literature whose grandparents were from the same region, is an ideal guide to this terrain.-- "Kirkus"

Julia Warhola was more than just Andy Warhol's mother. She was his mentor and his most unwavering supporter. An immigrant from Eastern Europe, she guided the Warhol family as they pursued the American Dream. At the same time, she provided Andy the opportunity to find his greatness, change the artworld, and redefine what art is and who it should be for. Andy Warhol's Mother is a must read for those who want a thorough understanding of Warhol, his family, and the cultural influences that shaped his artistic genius.--Donald Warhola, vice president, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts

For much of his adult life, Andy Warhol lived with his mother in New York City. Drawing upon a wealth of material, Elaine Rusinko takes us beyond the mythmaking surrounding this arrangement and brings to life Julia Warhola's unique voice, chronicling her Carpatho-Rusyn background, her immigrant world in Pittsburgh, and her complex relationship with her famous son. This is an important book.--Reva Wolf, State University of New York at New Paltz

Julia Warhola was an artist in her own right. Naïve yet shrewd, traditional yet eccentric, and tender yet manipulative, this complex Carpatho-Rusyn immigrant led a purposeful life. However, she is often stereotyped in biographies of her famous son. Rusinko skillfully and sensitively narrates her life story from Miková to Pittsburgh and New York, offering a nuanced perspective that challenges conventional portrayals.--Bogdan Horbal, Curator for Slavic and East European Collections, the New York Public Library

About the Author

Elaine Rusinko is associate professor emerita of Russian language and literature at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is the author of Straddling Borders: Literature and Identity in Subcarpathian Rus', which offers a comprehensive literary history of the region. She has also published translations of contemporary literature in "God is a Rusyn" An Anthology of Contemporary Carpatho-Rusyn Literature. Rusinko's interest in Andy Warhol and his mother arises from their shared Carpatho-Rusyn heritage.