Andy Warhol in the desert: Flamboyant art icon pops up in Saudi Arabia

A Saudi man visits an arts exhibition by late US artist Andy Warhol at the Maraya concert hall in the ruins of Al-Ula, a Unesco World Heritage site in northwestern Saudi Arabia, on Feb 19. Photo: AFP

Andy Warhol's iconic portraits of stars such as Marlon Brando and Dolly Parton are on display in the Saudi desert, at a show intended to reframe the kingdom's forbidding reputation.

The first exhibition in Saudi Arabia for the Pop Art giant is a tribute to the late artist's obsession with celebrity, and his seeming ability to predict the rise of contemporary influencer culture.