Behind the scenes of After Warhol

Revered in the world of screenprinting, Alexander Heinrici was Andy Warhol’s silkscreen printer of choice, and is still much in demand to this day. Working out of his studio in Brooklyn, NYC, he has collaborated with art world heavyweights such as Damien Hirst. Fast-forward to today, and Paul is the only artist with whom Alexander is working to create what the world’s leading scholar on Andy Warhol has called ‘posthumous Warhol’ screen prints.

Born in Vienna in 1945, Heinrici first opened his own printer’s workshop in 1968, working with a number of Austrian artists. His reputation soon grew and he inevitably moved to New York City only one year later. Evenings spent socialising with artists at restaurants and clubs led to collaborations, the first of which was with Jasper Johns. Andy Warhol got word of Alexander’s skill and turned up unannounced at his studio one day. They soon began working together and Warhol was so impressed by the precision of Alexander’s printing that he is reported to have chided him: “Once in a while you have to make mistakes so it looks like a Warhol!”

In 2017, Christies succinctly identified why Alexander is regarded as the best in the business, stating: “A master innovator, Heinrici so deeply understands his materials that he is able to think creatively, merging the best of an artist’s vision with fresh, individually-tailored technical approaches.”

A true scholar, Rainer Crone’s professional résumé catalogues his stellar and lasting impact on the world of academia. Although he was best known for writing the first catalogue raisonné of Andy Warhol’s work (published in July 1970) he also lectured at some of the best stateside universities during his career, including Yale, Berkeley, Columbia and NYU. His first catalogue raisonné and his Ph.D. thesis (which is still only available in German) are regarded as the first recorded European academic response to the work of Andy Warhol. 

Rainer began working with Warhol in 1968 and remained a close confidante until his death in 1987. Together they chose the cover image for the catalogue raisonné – ‘Red Self Portrait’ – which later led to controversy, and ultimately the demise of The Andy Warhol Foundation after they erroneously denied the artwork’s authenticity.

Passionate about immersing his students in the real-life creativity of artists, Rainer organised lectures by artists at Columbia and led student visits to artists’ studios, including those of Philip Taaffe, Eric Fischl, Peter Halley and Roy Lichtenstein. His thirst for knowledge lives on in the scores of students and academics who turn to his research for inspiration today.