Andy Warhol’s "Louis Brandeis" portrait to be unveiled at Brandeis University for his 150th birthday

Released on November 06, 2006
Contact: Marsha MacEachern, marsham@brandeis.edu or 781-736-4203
Carrie Simmons, csimmons@brandeis.edu or 781-736-4224

Waltham, Mass. – In honor of his 150th birthday, “Louis Brandeis” has been donated to The Rose Art Museum at the university that bears his name by the Feldman family (Mark, a resident of Newton; his brother, Andrew, of New York; and his sister, Julie Feldman Golovcsenko, of New York).

A part of Andy Warhol’s “Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century,” the painting of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice will be unveiled by the Honorable Margaret H. Marshall, chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Monday, Nov. 13 during the Justice Brandeis Jubilee birthday reception at the Shapiro Campus Center.

Warhol’s “Ten Portraits,” a collection of works featuring great Jewish thinkers, politicians, performers, musicians and writers, was originally exhibited at the Jewish Museum in New York in 1980. Others featured in the noted collection include Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, the Marx Brothers, Franz Kafka and Gertrude Stein.

“It’s enormously important for us to have this work,” said Michael Rush, the Henry and Lois Foster Director of The Rose. “Warhol is one of the towering figures in 20th century art, and for him to have painted a portrait of the individual who inspired our university combines two great figures of the last century.”

“As a family, we felt that Brandeis was the place where this important Warhol painting of Louis Brandeis belonged,” Mark Feldman said. “We are extremely pleased to celebrate the 150th birthday of one of America’s great legal scholars with this gift to Brandeis University. We hope the students, faculty and university visitors will enjoy the painting as much as we have.”

“Louis Brandeis” is an acrylic and silkscreen enamel portrait on canvas, 40 x 40 inches, and is one of Warhol’s seven unique paintings of Brandeis.

The Rose’s permanent collection also includes nearly two dozen other works by Warhol, including the original “Saturday Disaster” of a fatal car accident and prints of “Drawing for Black Bean Soup,” “Jackie Kennedy,” “Jackie Kennedy III” and “Ten Portraits.”

During the 2006-2007 academic year, Brandeis University is commemorating the 150th birthday of Louis Brandeis, whose life inspired the university’s founding mission. Academic symposia, art and archival exhibitions, a birthday reception and other events throughout the Justice Brandeis Jubilee year will honor the legacy of the late U.S. Supreme Court justice, who throughout his life exemplified intellectual inquiry, promoted social justice and championed broad learning in the arts and sciences as one of the fundamental values of a democracy.

For more details on all of the events please visit the Justice Brandeis Jubilee website.