On exhibit: photos taken of young Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol once predicted 15 minutes of fame for everyone.

But 25 years after his death, the pop artist's reputation and impact on the contemporary art world show no signs of fading.

His iconic images of everyday consumer objects and celebrities consistently command high prices and draw enthusiastic crowds to museum and gallery shows.

But before he catapulted onto the world stage, the young artist was already producing some of his most iconic pieces. In a new exhibition, Warhol is captured in photographs at the very cusp of the pop art movement, The Associated Press reports.

"Before They Were Famous: Behind the Lens of William John Kennedy," at the Site/109 gallery in lower Manhattan, features rare shots of Warhol and artist Robert Indiana posing together with what were soon to become their most celebrated works -- Warhol's "Marilyn" and Indiana's "LOVE" logo.

Kennedy, 82, was a freelance photographer when the photos were taken and had nearly forgotten about them and only rediscovered the images several years ago.

He took them when Warhol "was a known entity but had not yet exploded on the scene," said Eric Shiner, director of the Warhol Museum, located in Warhol's hometown of Pittsburgh. "They capture Andy both in production mode and also having-fun mode."

About 50 silver gelatin prints of Warhol and some 30 of Indiana capture the artists in their studios, relaxing, editing, painting and chatting on the phone. The images -- presented by the Miami-based publishing house Kiwi Arts Group -- are shown alongside some of the artists' originals works.