By December 1985, Andy Warhol had long cemented his place as the defining figure of the pop art movement. His studio, known as The Factory, was more than a workspace — it was a social hub where artists, celebrities, and eccentric personalities moved in and out daily. Warhol thrived in that environment, and the people around him were as much a part of his world as the art he made.
One of the most constant presences at The Factory was Brigid Berlin. A longtime muse, collaborator, and friend of Warhol, Berlin was a genuine insider — not a passing visitor, but a true mainstay of the Factory scene. She was known for her bold personality and her deep creative ties to Warhol that stretched back years. Her pug dog was a natural extension of that world, tagging along into the studio just as she did.
Photographer Mark Greenberg was the one behind the camera that December. Greenberg had previously worked with Warhol on more structured conceptual portrait projects, including a formal series called “PORTRAIT.” But for this session, he stepped away from that approach entirely. He returned to candid photojournalism, following Warhol through The Factory as he moved among his crew and interacted with the people around him.
The resulting photographs show Warhol holding Brigid Berlin’s pug — relaxed, unposed, and fully in his element. There is no artifice in the images. Greenberg simply documented what was already there: Warhol’s silver hair, his quiet presence, and the lively, unconventional atmosphere of The Factory. The pug, belonging to one of his closest companions, sits comfortably in his arms, making the scene feel both intimate and completely natural.
These photographs offer a direct look at Warhol’s daily life in the mid-1980s — not the polished, gallery-ready version, but the lived-in reality of his studio days. Greenberg’s candid approach captured something that staged portraits rarely do: the texture of ordinary moments inside an extraordinary place. The Factory in 1985 was still very much alive, and these images are a firsthand record of it.
