Andy Warhol’s Ten Portraits of Jews of the 20th Century

From Chicago’s Spertus Institute, a live-streamed behind-the-portraits look at Andy Warhol’s Ten Portraits of Jews of the 20th Century 

In 1980, Andy Warhol created a series that memorialized luminaries of modern Jewish culture: Sarah Bernhardt, Louis Brandeis, Martin Buber, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, George Gershwin, Franz Kafka, the Marx Brothers, Golda Meir, and Gertrude Stein. 

Each work was based on an archival photograph that the artist enlarged, partially redrew, and overlaid with blocks of high-contrast color. Warhol provocatively referred to these thinkers, politicians, performers, and writers as his “Jewish geniuses.” 

When the works were first exhibited, they were warmly received by Jewish audiences in spite of scathing reviews by critics. Hilton Kramer of The New York Times wrote, “The way it exploits its Jewish subjects without showing the slightest grasp of their significance is offensive—or would be, anyway, if the artist had not already treated so many non-Jewish subjects in the same tawdry manner.” 

Over the decades, the works have been reexamined and reevaluated. On Thursday, November 19 at 7 pm CST, Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership—which owns a suite of the works in its collection—will present a live-streamed exploration of the Warhol portraits with art historian Dr. Richard Meyer. Meyer curated the 2008 retrospective Warhol’s Jews: Ten Portraits Reconsidered at the Jewish Museum in New York and the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco and is author of the book of the same name. He will be providing insight into Warhol's interests in fame, genius, and Jewishness. Tickets are $18 ($8 for students) and can be purchased online at spertus.edu. 

This online program is presented in conjunction with Spertus Institute's Ground Level Arts Lab exhibition Who Represents Us?: Andy Warhol’s Ten Portraits of Jews of the 20th Century and other highlights from the Spertus collection, which is currently closed to visitors due to the intimate nature of space and the need for social distancing during the pandemic. The exhibition is scheduled to run through September 5, 2021 and those interested can sign up on the Spertus website to receive email updates and information on related programming and resources.  

Dr. Richard Meyer is the Robert and Ruth Halperin Professor in Art History at Stanford University, where he teaches about modern and contemporary American art.  

This program is part of Spertus Institute’s Solomon Goldman Lecture Series, generously endowed by the late Rose and Sidney Shure. 

Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership offers dynamic learning opportunities rooted in Jewish wisdom and culture and open to all. Graduate programs and workshops train future leaders and engage individuals in exploration of Jewish life. Public programs—including films, exhibitions, speakers, seminars, workshops, and concerts—take place online, and when safe to do so, at the Institute's Michigan Avenue facility and in the Chicago suburbs. 

Spertus Institute is a partner with the Jewish United Fund in serving our community.