How Do Creative People Think and Behave?

Warhol 1

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Andy Warhol and Asperger 's Syndrome

Andy Warhol is considered one of the most important , if not the most important

American artist of the second half of the twentieth century . Many observers have

suggested that his ability to focus on art at the expense of other activities , and his

fondness for everyday objects , may have been by-products of Asperger 's syndrome or

mild autism

Through grade school and high school , he remained extremely

shy and developed

few social skills . He showed no interest in dating girls (Burns . He was , from a very

young age , obsessed with drawing . His older brother John remembered that Andy

would disappear from his position during neighborhood sandlot baseball games , and be

found at home , on the front steps , drawing flowers (Burns

In his adult life , the only close personal relationship he maintained was with

his mother , who shared his Manhattan townhouse (Burns . His social skills remained

limited . With peers such as Edie Sedgwick , who appeared in many of his movies , his

relationship was exclusively professional . He spoke in a flat monotone in short

sentences . Dr . Ioan James noted that mild autism may have also contributed to the

absolute flatness of (Warhol 's ) voice and his peculiar locutions (qtd in Dobson 1

Warhol 2

At The Factory , his New York studio , he would often work through the night , to

the exclusion of all other activities . The only medications he ever used were diet pills...