After Andy: Adventures in Warhol Land

by Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni Narrated by Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni

Overview

After Andy is Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni's insider's account of working in Andy Warhol's studio and Interview magazine, and explores Warhol's impact on the art world, pop culture, society, and fashion-and how his iconic status gave rise to some of our most influential tastemakers today.
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Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni met Andy Warhol when she was sixteen, and then on and off over the years before landing in New York City at the Andy Warhol Studio, or as she calls it, “Adventures in Warhol Land.” In this witty, page-turning account, she takes readers deep into the Pop artist's world-as well as miles into the stratosphere of the socialites, fashion icons, film stars, rock legends, and art world powerhouses who could be found in his orbit-where she worked with Fred Hughes, Brigid Berlin, Vincent Fremont, and others who were once part of the Factory clan. As the last person hired at the studio before Warhol died in 1987, Fraser-Cavassoni saw firsthand the end of an era and the establishment of a global phenomenon. From the behind-the-scenes disagreements and the assessment of his estate, which included Interview magazine and his art inventory, to the record-breaking auction of his belongings and the publication of his diaries, Fraser-Cavassoni examines the immediate aftermath of Warhol's death and his ever-growing impact, which ranged from New York to Los Angeles and throughout Europe. Interviews with key figures of the art world and dozens of Andy intimates make After Andy and its subject more relevant than ever today.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

06/26/2017
Born into an aristocratic British family in 1963, fashion journalist Fraser-Cavassoni (Sam Spiegel) chronicles her education in rebellion as a member of a star-studded social set during the last decades of the 20th century. A maven of the rich and famous, the younger Fraser-Cavassoni dips into wild parties brimming with cleavage and cocaine as easily as she socializes with willowy rock musicians (at age 17 she had an affair with Mick Jagger). Recording her many flirtations, Fraser-Cavassoni skips between London, Hollywood, New York, and Paris, describing a string of gal Friday experiences with powerful movie and fashion agents that paved her way to working in Warhol Studios. It is a breezy account in which chapter topics dissolve into lengthy detours. Less than a third of the book concentrates on Warhol and entourage, not enough to warrant his name in the subtitle. However, her cocktail, catwalk, and nightclub sketches provide an amusing stories of the consummate “English Muffin” (a term for well-born British women working for Warhol) with physical attributes “spilling out in all the right places.” This is a perfect beach read. (Aug.)

From the Publisher

An endlessly quotable romp that captures the melancholy and magnificence of Warhol's final days and legacy…[After Andy] masterfully winds through anecdotes, scenes and interviews with scores of Warhol's associates, acquaintances and admirers. It is breezy without ever feeling light, channeling Warhol's enigmatic presence.”
—Nick Ripatrazone, Rolling Stone

“In this superfun memoir, Fraser-Cavassoni leads the reader on her adventures as a blossoming London “It” girl, and her encounters with movers and shakers from the art, fashion and celebrity worlds orbiting Warhol, with the visionary Pop artist serving as the linking thread.…Many of the memoir’s anecdotes…are laugh-out-loud funny.”
—Katya Foreman, WWD

"Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni's After Andy opens up a can of Pop art and power."
—Vanity Fair
 
“In this witty memoir, former It girl Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni spills the beans on Warhol and his inner circle…In hilarious anecdotes and hard-hitting interviews, [she] explores Warhol’s indelible impact on the art world and pop culture.”
—Artnet.com
 
“[An] engaging look at Warhol's social matrix from the early days of the Factory to the impact of his personal aesthetic on art, fashion and popular culture decades beyond his death…a serious and worthwhile addition to Warhol studies because of the wealth of knowledge [Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni] brings to the subject.”
—Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 
“Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni, a fashion journalist and writer, tells all…in her new memoir, After Andy.”
—Elle Decor

“[A] glitzy chronicle…lavishly detailed…exposing the true glamour of the Warhol-ian world… Fraser-Cavassoni unleashes an intriguing stockpile of anecdotes that will delight Warhol's legion of admirers… A pop icon's star-studded legacy decorated with red-carpet prestige.”
—Kirkus 

“With poignancy and lots of laughs, Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni takes us straight to the heart of celebrity culture—by way of 1970s London, 1980s New York, and 1990s Paris. After Andy is a must-read for anyone who loves art, fashion, and great gossip!”
—Kate Betts, author of My Paris Dream
 
“Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni’s riveting eyewitness memoir captures Warhol’s inner circle in the aftermath of the artist’s sudden death with insight, factuality, compassion and fabulous high style.”
—Bob Colacello, author of Holy Terror: Andy Warhol Close Up
  
“As a visual artist obsessed with all things Warhol, I dove into After Andy looking for tales of the Factory and found the rich and deftly reported memoir of an honest and reluctant ‘it girl.’ Fraser-Cavassoni’s laser-sharp memory and attention to detail—fashion, interiors, conversation—make her story of searching for herself through the lens and legacy of Andy Warhol an utter joy to read.” 
—Laurie Simmons
 
“Seen through the eyes and the sharp tongue of a clever English society girl, After Andy is a compelling chronicle that offers an entrée into the world of art and fashion in the ’80s and ’90s in New York, Paris, and London.” 
—Diane von Furstenberg, author of The Woman I Wanted to Be
 
“The mysterious fabulosity of Andy Warhol is the gift that keeps on giving. Natasha, the insider, rips the wig off the whole shebang and offers a ton of intelligent and personal insights.” 
—Simon Doonan, author of The Asylum

“Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni observes everything with a raised eyebrow, but also with graciousness, amusement, and enthusiasm. She navigates joyously through the past and present, writing about the intimacies of her social and professional life with an outsider’s independent view. Her contradictions are her charm.” 
—Ines de la Fressange, author of Parisian Chic
 
“As an observant insider, Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni has great stories and the best take on things.”
—Sofia Coppola
 
“I enjoyed After Andy enormously.”
—Rupert Everett, author of Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins
 
“After Andy should be called Confessions of the Ultimate Insider. It is a fascinating, candid account of international court society written by a court favorite—a nonfiction version of Truman Capote’s Answered Prayers.”
—Toby Young, author of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

Kirkus Reviews

2017-06-06
The life and fame of "the American godfather of Pop art" as seen through the doting eyes of a former Factory staffer.Fashion journalist and biographer Fraser-Cavassoni (Monsieur Dior: Once Upon a Time, 2014) was the last "English Muffin" to work for Warhol before he died in 1987. Her history prior to landing that coveted position and the ensuing years are lavishly detailed in a memoir exposing the true glamour of the Warhol-ian world. Her glitzy chronicle begins at her boss's funeral, described as "the Big Apple's equivalent of a royal event." Yet it was also "strangely moving," as the author became increasingly aware of Warhol's notoriety not only as an idolized pop artist, but as a man with a uniquely self-effacing personality. Fraser-Cavassoni's own history is also captivating. As the daughter of British writer Lady Antonia Fraser and the stepdaughter of playwright Harold Pinter, the author retraces her familiarity with Warhol from a "socially aware" youth courting extravagance and mischief to her first social encounters with the artist as someone "posh with cleavage." The author then delves into juicier tidbits of her ill-fated dalliance with Mick Jagger, Warhol's discovery and mentoring of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and her arrival in America rubbing elbows with celebrities and eventually landing a two-year tenure at Andy Warhol Enterprises. Once firmly ensconced in the business, the 1980s underground art scene swirled around her, and Fraser-Cavassoni unleashes an intriguing stockpile of anecdotes that will delight Warhol's legion of admirers. Appearing in many of these escapades is Fred Hughes, Warhol's business manager and confidant, a dedicated guide who steered Warhol's artistic productions toward maximum profitability and notoriety. The author's treatment of Hughes' allegiance to the artist and painful physical decline following his death, along with the disposition of Warhol's estate and diary publications, aptly tempers the high-fashion celebrity circus the author knows so well. A pop icon's star-studded legacy decorated with red-carpet prestige.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172139062
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	08/01/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

01    Andy's Memorial
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "After Andy"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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