The photographer David McCabe with Andy Warhol, seated, and his associates Edie Sedgwick, Chuck Wein (on the floor) and Gerard Malanga. Warhol hired Mr. McCabe in 1964 to document his life for a year | Image Source Internet
Remembering David McCabe
The photographer who documented “A Year in the Life of Andy Warhol
British fashion photographer David McCabe died last month. Although his photographs published in in the Life, Harper’s Bazaar, W, French Elle, French Vogue, and The Times had brought him fame, he is much remembered for his photographs of Andy Warhol becoming Warhol. When Mr. McCabe arrived in New York in 1960, he was a 20-year-old art school graduate fresh from England. He got a room at the Y.M.C.A., began working as a photo assistant, and started shooting fashion editorials for magazines like Glamour and Mademoiselle. Four years later, Warhol noticed Mr. McCabe’s work and asked to meet him at the Factory, his silver-foil-lined studio on East 47th Street, for a job interview of sorts. Warhol wanted to hire a personal photographer to document his cavorting at parties and gallery openings around town. He wanted, in other words, someone to document him engaging in the performance of being Andy Warhol. McCabe was hired and for the whole of 1964, he followed Warhol.
1 & 2 – The Andy Warhol Circle | 3 Fashion photography for High-Low Vintage | 4 Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali © David McCabe | Image Source Internet Image Source Internet
“I didn’t even know who Andy Warhol was… At that time he had a certain notoriety in Manhattan, but he wasn’t famous in the way he would later become. All that changed in the year I spent photographing him.”
– David McCabe, Interview by the website The Arts Desk, 2011
Throughout 1964, the two would typically meet at five in the afternoon, before heading out and speaking infrequently to one another for the rest of the night. Warhol’s only request was that McCabe not utilize a flash, since he did not want it to be apparent that he had a personal photographer. McCabe ultimately captured Warhol in various settings, such as at parties and gallery openings. One noted photograph was of Warhol and Salvador Dalí sharing a glass of wine. During Andy Warhol’s factory years Dalí beckoned the pop artist into his suite at New York’s St. Regis Hotel (always room 1610) with a theatrical swirl of his cane. Opera was playing at a deafening volume, Warhol was so nervous he was “guzzling back wine,” said David McCabe. Salvador grabbed an Inca headdress and placed it on Warhol’s head. The pair were there for five uncomfortable minutes before Warhol turned to McCabe and said “David, we gotta go.”
McCabe was also able to document some of Warhol’s private moments that unmasked his inner life. The 400 duotone photos were published in 2003 as A Year in the Life of Andy Warhol. Many of them had never before been revealed to the public. This is because neither Warhol nor McCabe did anything with the photographs after they were developed. They remained in a drawer at McCabe’s studio until around 2000, when The Andy Warhol Museum contacted him after learning about the pictures and the book was published.
David McCabe died on Feb. 26 at a hospital in Albany, N.Y. He was 80.
By Tulsi Swarna Lakshmi | Published on March 30, 2021
Share
Related News
A pause amid the rush | Digital Online Show of Project 365 Tiruvannamalai
The premiere show of Project 365 Tiruvannamalai was shown at the famous Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata, in 2019. Now, a small selection from this whopping collection has now travelled across the continent and is being exhibited at the Magnet Galleries, Melbourne, Australia. Titled, Elements and Fragments, the show was opened to publich on 15th July 2021, however, due to the pandemic third wave lockdown measures, the gallery had to remain shut. In a remarkable effort, the Magnet Galleries have transformed the show into a fully digital 360° format. On World Photography Day, the digital show was unveiled to the public.
Underwater Photography: No Under Estimating It | Susannah Snowden-Smith
On a bright Sunday morning, PhotoMail caught up with the chief documentary photographer on the Godavaya excavation, Susannah Snowden-Smith. What followed was an interesting revelation of the nuances of underwater photography. Living her dream of underwater photography, which she had started thinking about when she was 11 years old, Susannah reached out to a renowned archeologist as early as in her tenth grade. And in a matter of few years, she was on her first 120 feet underwater excavation assignment close to Sedana island Sadana Island in Red Sea, documenting an eighteenth-century ship wreck.
IFA Call for Proposal: Arts Research 2021 – 2022
IFA invites proposals for our Arts Research programme from researchers and practitioners who are interested in undertaking research projects, implemented by IFA. These projects could investigate marginalised or relatively unexplored areas; intend to create spaces for dialogue between theory and practice; offer new readings of artistic practices; and use interdisciplinary approaches to break new conceptual ground, among other things. The programme is open to proposals from individual scholars, researchers, and practitioners, across disciplines. You are eligible to apply if you are an Indian national.
Lokame Tharavadu: An art initiative surfing over the pandemic waves
'Lokame Tharavadu' brings as many as 267 Malayali artists from around the world together at two historic towns of Kerala -- Alappuzha and Cochin -- both having a chequered history of international trade and cultural exchanges.
Millions of Images from Tokyo to your screens in 3 minutes: Olympics 2020
Amidst all odds and several controversies, Olympics 2020 is going on, without many audiences to cheer and veer the players. The only solace is that millions from across the world are watching it live. The number of online viewers has become more than doubled, with many countries still in lockdown, with the threat of pandemic third-wave closing in fast.
Photographing the Irulas: Young photographer Subeesh Yuva
Subeesh Yuva is an upcoming photographer based in Kozhikode. He enjoys traveling and is a passionate portrait and street photographer. Earlier, he had worked as a designer and an editor. His recent exhibition, CAMERA KOKEL SEARING FLAMES, was showcased at the Lalitha Kala Academy, Calicut, between 24th and 31st March 2020. The show featured his photographs of the Irula community in Attapady. Here is an exclusive interview with Subeesh.
A dream camera for Self-Filming Vloggers: Sony’s ZV-E10
A year after introducing its first camera for vloggers (the fixed-lens ZV-1), Sony has announced the ZV-E10, an interchangeable lens APS-C camera. With a larger sensor and the ability to swap lenses, Sony believes this camera steps up what the ZV-1 started. The Sony ZV-E10 will be available in either black or white and be priced at around Rs. 52000/- for the body only. There is a kit option available that comes with the Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS lens that will cost app. Rs. 59000/-. However, vloggers in India have to wait, for there is still no news about the International availability of this new camera.
Remembering David McCabe, the photographer who documented “A Year in the Life of Andy Warhol”
British fashion photographer David McCabe died on 26th Feb 2021. Although his photographs published in in the Life, Harper's Bazaar, W, French Elle, French Vogue, and The Times had brought him fame, he is much remembered for his photographs of Andy Warhol becoming Warhol.
Nikon announces 4K, 1,000-fps video sensor with adaptive exposure
Nikon cameras have announced a new sensor, which could be a game-changer, with super-slow motion, huge dynamic range, and exposure live-adjusted throughout the image.
In a first, the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi has opened its exhibition grant to photographers. One recipient Devarajan Devan’s Poojyam opens today at Kozhikode
One of the first Lalithakala Akademi exhibition grant recipients is young photographer Devarajan Devan. He says he became a photographer by chance, some five years ago. But once he has gotten into it, there is no looking back. He is basically a commercial event photographer with an interest in street photography, a well-trodden path introduced by the likes of Henri-Cartier Bresson. The show from the grant, Poojyam (Zero) is opening today, 8th February at Lalithakala Akademi Kozhikode. This would be Devarajan’s first photography exhibition. Here is an exclusive interview with Devarajan Devan, taken by Rahul Menon.