Warhol's Muses
The Artists, Misfits, and Superstars Destroyed by the Factory Fame Machine

Quotes

One of Publishers Weekly’s Best Summer Reads of 2025

"Leamer is undeniably excellent at setting a scene, especially a louche one. Nearly every page has at least one great sleazy anecdote or pinch of gossip.” —New York Times

“Warhol’s Muses is a sympathetic group portrait…Leamer shows compassion when recounting the lives of these creative women…In accentuating the humanity of these women who were made—and unmade—by the Factory, Leamer reveals Warhol as a master manipulator who used so many to build his “most enduring creation: himself.”—The Washington Post

“Enriched by kaleidoscopic detail, it’s an enthralling window into the making of a legendary artist and the beginnings of celebrity culture, set against the volatile art scene of 1960s and ’70s New York City.” —Publishers Weekly

“[T]hought-provoking and fascinating…Instead of passing judgment on Warhol or his Factory of superstars, Leamer presents facts from an era in the New York City art world…a compelling chronicle of Warhol’s Factory in the 1960s.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“[W]ell-researched . . . [Warhol’s] art is a powerful statement on America, whether you ever knew him as a person or not. The characters in his life, even if they are gorgeous and tragic, are mere footnotes.” —Associated Press

“[A] scintillating read that marries two improbable bedfellows: the feminist and the scandalous.” —Shelf Awareness

“Captivating, vivid portraits of the fascinating women exploited by Andy Warhol—written by the premier biographer of America’s entitled rich. Laurence Leamer brilliantly evokes the Sixties, its wildness, but also its seediness and pathos. A stunning achievement—and just a damn good read.”
—Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize–winning coauthor of American Prometheus and director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography

“Andy was addicted to other people's addictions … and that's the worst addiction of all. This book tells it all.”
—Gerard Malanga, Warhol’s first assistant

“No book has captured the glamour and the horror of the Warhol factory like Warhol’s Muses.”
—George Abagnalo, longtime Warhol employee

"We can’t wait to get our hands on it.” —Queerty

“[T]he stories are riveting in their seediness, and Leamer does a nice job of capturing Warhol’s ruthlessness...[F]ascinating” —Kirkus Reviews

“None entered [the Factory] without serious baggage, and few left unscathed. Warhol may have contributed to the democratization of art, but Leamer makes clear the consequences of treating people like art objects.” —Booklist

“Come for the dizzying whirlwind of sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll, stay for the cautionary tale of inevitable decay.” —Washington City Paper

“[A] fresh and often sobering look at Warhol . . . Leamer’s book urges us to remember that behind the glossy surface of pop art are real people, often forgotten, used, and silenced.” —Pittsburgh City Paper

“Warhol’s fans may say that he was conducting a radical experiment, and that the superstars chose to participate. His detractors may dismiss him based on what some have described as sadistic behavior. But narratives like Leamer’s are a necessary corrective to both views.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“Leamer pulls no punches . . . [S]o well researched and insightful that we find ourselves appreciative of pulling back the curtain on a secretive icon.” —Red Carpet Crash

“Andy Warhol loved to surround himself with intriguing women and drama in equal measure, and Laurence Leamer artfully reveals how these two obsessions often crashed into one another with brutal force in this new tour-de-force book. From Baby Jane Holzer and Ultra Violet who rode the Warhol wave to even greater levels of fame, to Edie Sedgwick and Valerie Solanas who emerged from the Factory broken or worse, the women in Warhol’s life were forever changed by the Prince of Pop.”
—Eric Shiner, president of Powerhouse Arts, Brooklyn, and former director of The Andy Warhol Museum

“Laurence Leamer brings vivid and illuminating detail to the stories of ten women dubbed ‘superstars’ by Andy Warhol. From Edie Sedgwick to Nico to Ultra Violet, they were often glamorous or wealthy but each was rebellious in her own way. Whether ambitious or troubled or eccentric or spoiled, Warhol’s Factory changed them all.”
—Cynthia Carr, author of Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar

“As a worshipper at the shrine of Warhol, I thought I knew everything about his Superstars…then I picked up Laurence Leamer’s newest work. Part celebration of the incredible women who inspired Andy, part a cautionary tale on fame, entirely an homage to those who dared to live authentically. Bravo.”
—Jen Otter Bickerdike, author of You Are Beautiful and You Are Alone: The Biography of Nico