Warhol's Jews: Ten Portraits Reconsidered

Andy Warhol’s extraordinary series, Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century, portrays a pantheon of great Jewish thinkers, politicians, performers, musicians, and writers. Included in the series are such celebrated figures as Sarah Bernhardt, Louis Brandeis, Martin Buber, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, the Marx Brothers, Golda Meir, George Gershwin, Franz Kafka, and Gertrude Stein. This exhibition is the first time Warhol’s original paintings have been shown on the West Coast as part of a major exhibition about the series and the individuals it portrays.

First shown at The Jewish Museum, New York in 1980, Ten Portraits was met with both critical response and praise. While many were skeptical of the artist’s intentions, others applauded his new language of color, geometric shape, and sharp line. The series represents an important and influential body of work as well as an homage to these extraordinary figures of the twentieth century.

The exhibition was organized by The Contemporary Jewish Museum with guest curator Richard Meyer, professor of Art History at the University of Southern California. Warhol's Jews debuted at The Jewish Museum, New York in spring 2008.

Warhol's Jews: Ten Portraits Reconsidered was organized by The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, and The Jewish Museum, New York, with guest curator Richard Meyer, professor of Art History at the University of Southern California.

Warhol's Jews: Ten Portraits Reconsidered and its companion catalog are made possible by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. Lead support for the San Francisco presentation comes from Bank of America and the Jim Joseph Foundation with additional major support from Sam Hamilton and Jennifer Chaiken, Concepcion S. and Irwin Federman, The Ira and Leonore Gershwin Philanthropic Fund, Maribelle and Stephen Leavitt, William J. and Fern E. Lowenberg, Norman C. Schultz and Gale Golding, Chara Schreyer and Gordon Freund, Jennifer and Tony Smorgon, The Somekh Family Foundation, Roselyne Chroman Swig, and Kenneth and Anna Zankel. Hotel partner: Palomar hotel. Lead Inaugural Year Exhibition Support by the Koret Foundation and Taube Foundation.