3.5 stars. I’ve enjoyed the books from Leamer that I’ve read, but this was a bit tougher to connect with.

The novel covers Warhol’s relationships with ten of his “superstars” including Edie Sedgwick, Nico, Candy Darling, Baby Jane Holzer, Brigid Berlin, Mary Woronov, International Velvet, Viva, UltraViolet and Ingrid Superstar. I don’t know that any of them escaped his orbit unscathed.

Leamer wrote a great book on Truman Capote and his swans (I highly recommend it if you are at all interested in the topic) that became the basis for the recent “Feud” miniseries. The big difference between Capote and Warhol is that while Capote certainly used the swans for status he also offered him his loyal friendship (well, til the end) and a terribly witty and welcome dinner guest and alternative to their husbands.

Warhol? He appears to be nothing but a truly awful man with no genuine feeling for anyone, an absolute, unrepentant user. His it girls were often desperate for his help, for him to be the friend they had been to him and he not only withheld, he often hoped they would commit suicide so he could film it. So quite the charmer! He also treated his lovers and everyone associated with the Factory this way.

“…what he does is morally indefensible. He is a kind of confidence man, preying on people’s vanity, ignorance, or loneliness, gaining their trust and betraying them without remorse.” So that’s Andy Warhol. Prior to reading this book I always had a generally positive opinion about him, knowing that he was from Pittsburgh and that he was not from money, but was entirely self-created, but the book has definitely colored my view, a very, very solid black.

As to the book I missed Warhol and the Factory during its heyday and though the names of some of these women are vaguely familiar to me, I lack context. Those who lived through the era may enjoy the book more, though I still liked it fine. Leamer does a good job with subjects like this and he’s quickly becoming a “must read” for me.

Warhol's Muses by Laurence Leamer is an extremely detailed account of women surrounding Warhol at the famed Factory. This is an excellent read for anyone interested in the 60's counterculture, Warhol, and his art creating processes. Leamer explores the lives of 10 women, brings them to life, honors them and respects them in ways Warhol failed.

I enjoyed Warhol’s Muses by Laurence Leamer and found it fascinating to learn about the women who influenced Andy Warhol’s life and art. The book offers compelling insights into these muses, though I felt the pacing was a bit slow at times. Overall, I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in Warhol or fans of Leamer’s previous work, Capote’s Women. Both books explore how their central figures used the women around them to shape and perpetuate their own fame, making for an intriguing parallel.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was interesting to learn about Andy Warhol and the muses he had. It was informative and worked with the overall feel that I was expecting. Laurence Leamer wrote this well and enjoyed the overall research that was put into it.

I received this as digital galley from NetGalley.

Well after reading Gopnik's 976 biography of Warhol and this book by Leamer on Warhol's 'muses' my opinion on Andy Warhol has been firmly cemented as an awful person who ruined people's lives!

Leamer does a good job of giving each of Warhol's muses a portrait and personality of their own and I enjoyed reading about the ones that I did not know as much about (Baby Jane Holzer, Ultra Violet) as well as others that I have read lots about (mainly Edie).

Has someone written about how so many 60s counterculture stars experienced wildly conservative turns in their older age? There's something there.