Steve Kaufman

In 1981 Kaufman met Andy Warhol, who became a significant influence on the 19-year-old Kaufman, who worked as Warhol's assistant at his studio, The Factory, producing original paintings and silkscreens. "As Warhol's assistant, I learned to silkscreen with oils that will last forever. That's the same process I use today.

Kaufman designed theme parties for various nightclubs, sold his paintings to Calvin Klein and Steve Rubell, and participated in a group art show with pop artist Keith Haring.

In 2001 Kauman continued to support more than 170 charities each year and has hired more than 759 ex-gang members to assist at his studio. Kaufman creates two new painting styles, "portrait collage" and "museum art". Examples of portrait collage include his works "Rat Pack", "Hollywood Marilyn", "Van Gogh" and "Jackie Kennedy", in which he added a collage of images to the main portrait. An example of Kaufman's museum art includes the September 11 Memorial Painting which was a tribute to the heroes of the World Trade Center attacks. Kaufman created a 20 by 500 feet (6.1 m × 152.4 m) series of paintings to commemorate the 35-year history of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, drawing 10 million visitors in the first 4 months.