Andy Warhol: The Complete Commissioned Record Covers, 1949–1987

The first edition of this catalog raisonné accompanied Warhol Live: Music and Dance in Andy Warhol's Work, which opened at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 2008. It's no surprise that the initial run of 10,000 copies sold out, as this is a fine book. Readers will find over 50 record covers from the collection of curator and author Maréchal (art history, Univ. du Québec), all reproduced in color, to scale, and with front and back images included. Because Andy Warhol accepted commissions to design record covers throughout his roughly 40-year career, they offer a lesson, not only in his development as an artist but also in the changing fashions of 20th-century commercial art and music. While the volume's focus is the cover art, the narrative and additional images stand out. Each chronological entry provides insight into the musicians and the production of the album; likewise, Maréchal tells the story of each cover by exploring Warhol's creative process.