DON'T MISS ONE-DAY EXHIBITION, WARHOL: INSIDE THE BOX

Feb 6
2 min read

New Exhibition Shares Extraordinary Story Behind the William John Kennedy Box Sets

William John Kennedy’s rare and iconic photographs of Andy Warhol capture the chapter when the Pop Art pioneer changed the world - and the ongoing story behind these historic images is fittingly remarkable.

For the first time, new exhibition Warhol: Inside the Box will share the full, extraordinary stories of these images, from their creation during the birth of the Pop Art Movement, to being lost and forgotten for half a century, the impact of their discovery, and the ongoing saga of the rare and sealed box sets with the remaining photographs.

The William John Kennedy: the Warhol Museum Edition box sets are the first portfolio release in the history of the Warhol Museum and will be on show at the free exhibition at Bloomsbury’s opulent L’oscar London hotel on 18 March from 6-11pm. One guest at the event will also be gifted with a signed piece of history, in a unique draw.

The late Kennedy shot his friend Warhol from the early 60s, at the crucial moment when the iconic artist's career was just launching, and this rare body of images has become the most recognised and important collection of Warhol photographs ever discovered. They are believed to be the only images in existence capturing Warhol with some of his most celebrated works.

Remarkably, the negatives were stored in a box, gathering dust for nearly five decades - and almost thrown away - until Kennedy rediscovered them.

He worked with KIWI Arts Group and The Andy Warhol Museum to introduce them to the world in 2012, with a star-studded event at the former Versace Mansion (Villa by Barton G) where 50 Limited Edition Warhol Museum box sets were unveiled.

Each handmade, archival aluminium box contained five, signed and numbered photographs of Andy Warhol, taken just before the Silver Factory era, along with a foreword by Warhol Museum director, Eric. C. Shiner, introduction, and five essays.

During the launch event, 38 of these coveted box sets were sold, and the remaining 12 were bought for £40k each by private collector Neil Bookatz, which is where the latest chapter of the story begins.

Discover the full story and see these coveted boxes in person at this beautiful venue, for one day only.

Warhol: Inside the Box. 18 March from 6-9pm, FREE. L'oscar London hotel, 2-6 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4AA. RSVP by emailing lovelondongallery@gmail.com