Andy Warhol Heaven & Hell

In his foreword to this volume, Warhol's longtime associate Fremont contends that the years preceding the pop artist's unexpected death in 1987 saw a resurgence in the quality of his creative output. The 80-odd pages of illustrations that follow prove him right. These provocative paintings of Warhol's last years exhibit a wide range of styles, all represented here: from simple pieces based on advertising motifs--featuring ``wholesome'' hamburgers, Nikes and other products--that recall and comment on his work in the early 1960s, to intricate collaborations with 1980s superstar artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Francesco Clemente; from versions of Leonardo's Last Supper that evince both irony and reverence, to rough anatomical diagrams that shock by the directness of their portrayals of the body. A sensitive essay by Stuckey, curator of 20th-century painting and sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago, traces Warhol's final artistic itinerary. Richardson's ( A Life of Picasso ) moving eulogy warmly recalls Warhol's spirituality, exploring his two sides as ``callous observer'' and ``saintly simpleton.'' (Jan.)