City gallery's 15 minutes of Warhol fame

He is one of the most famous names in modern art, and now the work of Andy Warhol is inspiring a new generation of fans at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

The exhibition of paintings and posters at the Lichfield Street gallery is being hailed as a success, and on Saturday, the art dealer behind it paid a visit to see for himself how it was going.

Anthony d'Offay, once hailed as the UK's art king, sold his £125 million collection to the nation in 2008.

The move is leading to the creation of more than 30 artist rooms at galleries across the UK, including the Warhol room at Wolverhampton.

It features works dating from the 1960s to the late 1980s, including film posters, self portraits and images of Mick Jagger and Muhammad Ali.

Mr d'Offay knew Warhol and worked with him in the 1970s.

He said: "The exhibition has been beautifully done. Everyone here at the gallery takes things incredibly seriously and really enjoys their work.

"Andy Warhol's work still feels incredibly up to date. It is completely outside time – you don't feel it's tied to 1985 or 2009."

On Warhol, Mr d'Offay said: "It was strange to meet somebody that famous who was so shy. He took photographs all the time as a way of masking his shyness. And he was so extraordinary looking, with his pale face and weird hair.

"Whatever you would suggest to him he would agree, and say, 'great, let's do it'."

Keith Hartley, from the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, said: "Warhol's had such an influence on the way that things are perceived, like the media and the celebrity culture in the 60s and 70s. His legacy is still living."

Wolverhampton Art Gallery's Zoe Lippett said the exhibition, which runs until September 21, had been very well received.