From his proclamations at dinner parties, “Oh, I only eat candy,” to his “usual” Frozen Hot Chocolate drink at the New York City café Serendipity 3, Andy Warhol’s affinity for chocolate and sweets is legendary. Perhaps less known is that it appears to have been genetic: his mother, Julia Warhola, is quoted as being persuaded to marry Warhol’s father, Andrej, in part because he gave her candy [1]. Her love for sweets was instilled in Warhol early and was perhaps subconsciously related to his creativity; Warhol recounts childhood memories of receiving candy bars in exchange for every page completed in his coloring book [2]. During his decades in New York, entries from his diary recount visiting several candy shops and chocolatiers, including one instance when he stopped into a candy shop intending to sell them advertising space in Interview magazine, but ended up “buying $200 worth of candy instead [3]”.

[1] Wayne Koestenbaum, Andy Warhol: A Biography (New York: Open Road, 2001), 22, reprinted in New York Times, September 16, 2001, https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/16/books/chapters/andy-warhol.html.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Andy Warhol, The Andy Warhol Diaries, ed. Pat Hackett (New York: Warner Books, 1989), 156.