Andy Warhol in Wyoming

Visit the UW Art Museum to experience a stunning installation from this iconic artist.

 

By Director of Curatorial Affairs Michelle Sunset

 

Throughout 2026, the University of Wyoming Art Museum is showcasing highlights from its permanent collection through the museum-wide exhibition “Museum as Collector: Across Time and Place.” Among the exhibition’s featured installations is “Andy Warhol: 99 Photos,” which demonstrates the museum’s commitment to preserving and sharing significant works of art with the campus and broader communities.

 

The exhibition celebrates major gifts from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, which donated 156 photographs and screenprints to the UW Art Museum in 2008 and 2014. As part of accepting these gifts, the museum agreed to exhibit a substantial portion of the collection every 10 years. In fulfilling that commitment for the 2020s, the UW Art Museum has partnered with Colorado State University’s Gregory Allicar Museum of Art, creating a unique opportunity for audiences in both states to engage with Warhol’s artistic legacy. While the UW Art Museum presents “Andy Warhol: 99 Photos” through the summer and fall, the Gregory Allicar Museum is exhibiting a complementary selection of Warhol screenprints from both institutions’ collections.

Few artists have shaped contemporary visual culture as profoundly as Warhol. A leading figure of the pop art movement, he transformed familiar images from advertising, celebrity culture and everyday life into works of art that continue to influence artists and audiences around the world. 

His iconic images have become inseparable from the story of American art in the 20th century. The 99 photographs on view at the UW Art Museum reveal a different side of Warhol’s practice. Although he is best known for his brightly colored silkscreen prints, photography was central to his artistic process and daily life. Warhol documented everything from celebrities and socialites to ordinary moments and overlooked details. This exhibition showcases this wide-ranging perspective and features both portrait studies and candid photographs that reflect his fascination with fame, popular culture and the rhythms of everyday life.

The UW Art Museum is proud to have the opportunity to share such an extensive selection of works by an artist of Warhol’s stature. Through the generosity of the Andy Warhol Foundation, artworks that might otherwise be accessible only in major metropolitan museums are available to students, faculty, alumni and visitors in Wyoming. The exhibition underscores the important role university museums play in making world-class art accessible while enriching education, research and cultural life.

A visit to Laramie in 2026 offers a chance to experience the work of one of the most influential artists of the modern era through “Andy Warhol: 99 Photos.” It is a reminder that transformative artistic experiences can be found not only in the world’s largest museums but also here at the University of Wyoming.