Andy Warhol's early, hand-drawn illustrations don't garner as much attention as his iconic Pop art, but he was a regular contributor to Harper's Bazaar throughout the 1950s and '60s. Last night, the magazine unveiled "Andy Warhol: The Bazaar Years, 1951 - 1966″ in the Alexey Brodovitch Gallery at Hearst Tower.

   Glenda Bailey with Charlie Scheips

"You think that no Warhol rock had been left unturned, but, frequently, in a Warhol retrospective there might be one illustration," said curator Charlie Scheips.

According to Scheips, this is the first exhibit of Warhol's Bazaar work, in part because the originals were destroyed. Unlike photographers, illustrators in the 1950s did not expect their work to be returned. For the exhibit, Scheips combed through Harper's archives, which were then blown up into large single and two-page spreads.

"This whole show," Scheips said, "is a trajectory between him becoming a very successful commercial artist and bridging the moment before he comes Andy Warhol, worldwide famous Pop artist."

The illustrations, including decorative handwriting by Warhol's mother, Julia Warhola, suggest an artist's hand, an effect that stands in relief to today's hyper-Photoshopped landscape. A growing backlash against digitally-thinned models and unattainable beauty is brewing, but Harper's Bazaar editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey said that magazines can use Photoshop responsibly, to enhance the creative process.

Harper's recent fall issue included a spread in which photographer Jean-Paul Goude combined images he'd shot in Africa with shots of Naomi Campbell in Paris. The result: a realistic-looking spread in which the supermodel wrestles an alligator. Conversely, Peter Lindbergh reprised his portraits of models with no makeup (a similar spread appeared over the summer in French Elle to great acclaim). In Lindbergh's portraits, models are assisted only by their own grace.

"Artists find their right medium," Bailey said. "In Peter Lindbergh's case, he brings out that inner beauty, that realness. Equally, you can have [Goude's] cinematic portfolio of mystery and adventure that takes you on a flight of fantasy which does not exist."

The Warhol exhibit is free and open to the public by appointment only. Call: 212.649.2148.