Andy Warhol
In his day, Andy Warhol was, for many Americans, a shocking, controversial figure. From his New York City studio, he transformed the art world, making himself a major celebrity in the process. His paintings sold for significant sums of money, and they continue to be among the most valuable artworks in the world today. However, Warhol didn’t just paint. He was also a filmmaker, and it was one film project in particular which grabbed the attention of the FBI.
Warhol’s FBI file is relatively short for a celebrity, totalling just 80 pages. And much of it is devoted to a single issue: the filming of Lonesome Cowboys in 1968. Entitled drily, “Interstate Transportation of Obscene Matter”, the file was concerned with rumors that Warhol would include explicit sex scenes or other offensive material in his movie. As well as the script, FBI agents investigated the backgrounds of the film crew, noting with obvious distaste their long, ‘hippy’ hair and sandals. What’s more, the all-male make-up of the crew was seen as suspicious by some agents and also included in the file.
Additionally, the file is also made up of witness statements. These came from interviews the Agency carried out with people involved with the film, including those farmers whose ranch was used for the location. In the end, however, while the main author of the report concluded that the male members of Warhol’s cast “displayed homosexual tendencies and conducted themselves towards one another in an effeminate manner,” they could find no real evidence of obscenity. Thus, the U.S. Attorney’s office in New York declined to press ahead with a proposed prosecution.
After this brush with the FBI in 1968, Warhol was left alone by the Agency for the rest of his life. What’s more, when the file was eventually made public in the spring of 2011, it was only posted on the FBI website for a few weeks. According to the Agency, there was not sufficient public interest in the case to merit keeping it up. The full file is, however, still available to find online, showing another side to Warhol and highlighting the conservative attitudes to him and his work.