in 1968 warhol is shot multiple times by valarie solanas. someone trying to be around the factory and in his films. she felt very dejected when he decided not to work on one of her films. she went in and attempted to take his life. he was shot multiple times. nearly died. survived. but really changed his work and his life in and the way that he worked physically in his studio. he went from a very open-door policy to a closed-door policy. building more of a business-minded practice. but large paintings like this show his ability to still sort of gravitate towards very eye cannotic imagery. so the idea of death is very human and he captures it here in almost this portrait way. but the scale is great here. you feel kind of dwarfed under the skull and there is a hint of dark cynicism or humor. almost looks as if the skull is smiling. warhol died in 1987. kind of very unexpectedly from complicatio complications following a routine gl routine gallbladder surgery. he is buried here in pittsburgh. you can visit andy warhol's grave if you want. there