Warhol's Muses - by Laurence Leamer (Hardcover)

About the Book

"From the New York Times bestselling author of Capote's Women comes an astonishing account of the revolutionary artist Andy Warhol and his scandalous relationships with the ten women he deemed his 'superstars,' beginning in 1964 and culminating four years later when Warhol was shot and almost killed"

Book Synopsis

ONE OF "12 NEW NONFICTION BOOKS YOU NEED TO READ IN 2025"--THE OBSERVER
A "MUST-READ" BOOK OF SPRING 2025 - TOWN & COUNTRY
ONE OF "25 BOOKS TO READ IN 2025"--TORONTO STAR

From the New York Times bestselling author of Capote's Women comes an astonishing account of the revolutionary artist Andy Warhol and his scandalous relationships with the ten women he deemed his "Superstars".

"Now and then, someone would accuse me of being evil," Andy Warhol confessed, "of letting people destroy themselves while I watched, just so I could film them." Obsessed with celebrity, the silver-wigged artistic icon created an ever-evolving entourage of stunning women he dubbed his "Superstars"--Baby Jane Holzer, Edie Sedgwick, Nico, Ultra Violet, Viva, Brigid Berlin, Ingrid Superstar, International Velvet, Mary Woronov, and Candy Darling. He gave several of them new names and manipulated their beauty and talent for his art and social status with no regard for their safety, their dignity, or their lives.

In Warhol's Muses, bestselling biographer Laurence Leamer shines a spotlight on the complex women who inspired and starred in Warhol's legendary underground films--The Chelsea Girls, The Nude Restaurant, and Blue Movie, among others. Drawn by the siren call of Manhattan life in the sixties, they each left their protected enclaves and ventured to a new world, Warhol's famed Factory, having no sense that they would never be able to return to their old homes and familiar ways again. Sex was casual, drugs were ubiquitous, parties were wild, and to Warhol, everyone was transient, temporary, and replaceable. It was a dangerous game he played with the women around him, and on a warm June day in 1968, someone entered the Factory and shot him, changing his life forever.

Warhol's Muses explores the lives of ten endlessly intriguing women, transports us to a turbulent and transformative era, and uncovers the life and work of one of the most legendary artists of all time.

Review Quotes

One of Publishers Weekly's Best Summer Reads of 2025

"Leamer is undeniably excellent at setting a scene, especially a louche one. Nearly every page has at least one great sleazy anecdote or pinch of gossip." --New York Times

"Enriched by kaleidoscopic detail, it's an enthralling window into the making of a legendary artist and the beginnings of celebrity culture, set against the volatile art scene of 1960s and '70s New York City." --Publishers Weekly

"[T]hought-provoking and fascinating...Instead of passing judgment on Warhol or his Factory of superstars, Leamer presents facts from an era in the New York City art world...a compelling chronicle of Warhol's Factory in the 1960s." --Library Journal (starred review)

"[W]ell-researched . . . [Warhol's] art is a powerful statement on America, whether you ever knew him as a person or not. The characters in his life, even if they are gorgeous and tragic, are mere footnotes." --Associated Press

"Captivating, vivid portraits of the fascinating women exploited by Andy Warhol--written by the premier biographer of America's entitled rich. Laurence Leamer brilliantly evokes the Sixties, its wildness, but also its seediness and pathos. A stunning achievement--and just a damn good read."
--Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning coauthor of American Prometheus and director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography

"Andy was addicted to other people's addictions ... and that's the worst addiction of all. This book tells it all."
--Gerard Malanga, Warhol's first assistant

"No book has captured the glamour and the horror of the Warhol factory like Warhol's Muses."
--George Abagnalo, longtime Warhol employee

"We can't wait to get our hands on it." --Queerty

"[T]he stories are riveting in their seediness, and Leamer does a nice job of capturing Warhol's ruthlessness...[F]ascinating" --Kirkus Reviews

"None entered [the Factory] without serious baggage, and few left unscathed. Warhol may have contributed to the democratization of art, but Leamer makes clear the consequences of treating people like art objects." --Booklist

"Come for the dizzying whirlwind of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, stay for the cautionary tale of inevitable decay." --Washington City Paper

"[A] fresh and often sobering look at Warhol . . . Leamer's book urges us to remember that behind the glossy surface of pop art are real people, often forgotten, used, and silenced." --Pittsburgh City Paper

"Leamer pulls no punches . . . [S]o well researched and insightful that we find ourselves appreciative of pulling back the curtain on a secretive icon." --Red Carpet Crash

"Andy Warhol loved to surround himself with intriguing women and drama in equal measure, and Laurence Leamer artfully reveals how these two obsessions often crashed into one another with brutal force in this new tour-de-force book. From Baby Jane Holzer and Ultra Violet who rode the Warhol wave to even greater levels of fame, to Edie Sedgwick and Valerie Solanas who emerged from the Factory broken or worse, the women in Warhol's life were forever changed by the Prince of Pop."
--Eric Shiner, president of Powerhouse Arts, Brooklyn, and former director of The Andy Warhol Museum

"Laurence Leamer brings vivid and illuminating detail to the stories of ten women dubbed 'superstars' by Andy Warhol. From Edie Sedgwick to Nico to Ultra Violet, they were often glamorous or wealthy but each was rebellious in her own way. Whether ambitious or troubled or eccentric or spoiled, Warhol's Factory changed them all."
--Cynthia Carr, author of Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar

"As a worshipper at the shrine of Warhol, I thought I knew everything about his Superstars...then I picked up Laurence Leamer's newest work. Part celebration of the incredible women who inspired Andy, part a cautionary tale on fame, entirely an homage to those who dared to live authentically. Bravo."
--Jen Otter Bickerdike, author of You Are Beautiful and You Are Alone: The Biography of Nico

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Laurence Leamer is a leading biographer of the rich and powerful, including Capote's Women, Hitchcock's Blondes, Madness Under the Royal Palms and The Kennedy Women, among many other books. He lives in Washington, D.C., and Palm Beach, Florida.