Ten
Portraits Of Jews

Warhol was fascinated with stardom and fame and often depicted celebrities in his artworks such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. The artist was attracted to the glamour and elegance of the celebrity sphere and would often throw parties for the hottest stars and socialites at his New York studio, The Factory. While Warhol’s graphic style stays the same in these prints, the subjects change radically as the sitters of the portraits in Ten Portraits of Jews transcend the realm of surface level fame that Warhol was so obsessed with.

In many of the prints in the collection Warhol uses colour-fields of layered geometric shapes to form backdrops onto which he layers a photograph of a famous Jewish  figure. The faint photographic images contrast with the bright and vibrant backdrops and abstracts the archival photographic images from their original context. In doing this, Warhol generates new meanings and ways of viewing these images. Adding vivid colours and sketch-like lines, Warhol manipulates the contexts in which these historical figures are seen.

The collection captures Warhol’s playful use of colour and excellent draughtsmanship. The use of crayon lines adds a sketch-like quality to the prints and the addition of these lines to the photographs which form the base of the prints results in a tension between photograph and abstraction. Warhol produces a fascinating dialogue between surface and image which prompts interesting questions about the construction of a celebrity’s image and the way in which they are viewed in the public realm versus in real life.

By choosing ten notable figures who have all died and rendering them in a highly contemporary Pop Art style, Warhol memorialised these people and turned them into Pop Art icons whose impressive legacies are masked behind a veneer of modernity.  This further leads one to question the way images are manufactured and the difference between a person and their constructed image.

One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways of buying work by Andy Warhol is by using us to reach a seller. MyArtBroker is a curated site, meaning we feature artists that our collectors say they want. You can find Andy Warhol art for sale here. You’ll need to create a free account to buy or sell with us.

If you're looking to sell art by Andy Warhol, click the link and we can help. We employ a number of techniques and practices in order to give a realistic and achievable valuation on any art listed on myartbroker.com. We analyse the demand for the work in question, take into consideration previous sales and auction valuations, we assess the current gallery valuation and monitor the current deals taking place via MyArtBroker every day. We regularly advise sellers on a price bracket for their artwork completely free of charge.