Photographer David Gamble wasn’t just snooping in Andy Warhol’s medicine cabinet when he took what might arguably be the world’s first #shelfie in 1987. Handpicked to shoot the artist’s apartment shortly after his death, Gamble was “looking for Andy” in the mundane everyday objects, those that hadn’t yet been cataloged by the estate. “People thought I was strange for photographing it, but I knew it was undisturbed and pure because there wasn’t anything of intrinsic value inside,” he says.
“It was my chance to see Andy untouched. All of those objects, the skin care and Fashion Tan (11) and the Lip Smackers (27), give a clue to who he was first thing in the morning. That’s where he put Andy back together each day.” More than 30 years later, the analog shot reveals the pop-artist’s love of grooming—everything from high-end scents like Guerlain Extrait de Pot-Pourri Aux Plantes Marines (4), Chanel No. 5 After-Bath Spray (6), Guerlain Vétiver Talc (8), Kiku Afterbath Cologne (9) and Halston 1-12 Shave Foam (24), to a skin-care collection that ran the gamut from luxury lines like Janet Sartin (2, 3, 13), Christine Valmy (17) and Interface (23) to drugstore classics like Noxzema (25), Cetaphil (29) and Vaseline (32). Warhol wrote in his book, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: “If someone asked me, ‘What’s your problem?’ I’d have to say, ‘Skin.’”
The acne-prone artist, who kept hydrocortisone (7), Xerac BP 10 benzoyl peroxide (14) and acne gel (5) on hand, had a lifelong fixation with his complexion. This led The Factory visionary to facial treatments, collagen injections, and, along with friend Truman Capote, into the office of famed dermatologist Dr. Norman Orentreich, creator of Clinique. “Of all the products in Mr. Warhol’s cabinet, the Seven Day Scrub (1) and Sub Skin Cream (26) are still very relevant today,” says New York dermatologist David Orentreich, MD. “My father instructed all of his patients to adopt a simple regimen: cleanse, exfoliate and moisturize.”
As finely curated as his skin care, Warhol’s body-care essentials included classics like Vitabath (30), Lubriderm (31), Neet (33), Sally Hansen Extrasoothe (22), Alo Sun After Tan (19), and some niche finds like the Palm Beachy Royal Poinciana After Sun Lotion (28) and Nature de France Green Clay Deodorant (18). Known for his trademark wig, the legendary artist’s male-patterned baldness didn’t stop him from perfecting his coif with Pantene (10), Vidal Sassoon (15, 21), Framesi Styling Gel (12) and scalp treatments like René Furterer RF78 (16) and Exsel Selenium Sulfide Lotion (20). “I am a deeply superficial person,” he once said, “If you wear a wig, everybody notices. But if you then dye the wig, people notice the dye.” We may never know the true Andrew Warhola behind the wig and glasses, but a voyeuristic look inside his personal stash shows, that like many of us today, he elevated his grooming routine to an art form.