Picture of Sarah Bernhardt (FS II.234) (Trial Proof), 1980, stock version, by Andy Warhol
Picture of Sarah Bernhardt (FS II.234) (Trial Proof), 1980, stock version, by Andy Warhol
Picture of Sarah Bernhardt (FS II.234) (Trial Proof), 1980, by Andy Warhol; Andy and Edie Sedgwick Size Comparison.
Andy Warhol standing with screen prints from his Ten Famous Jews of the Twentieth Century series.

Sarah Bernhardt 234 (Trial Proof)

Catalog Title: Sarah Bernhardt (FS II.234) (Trial Proof)
Year: 1980
Size: 40" x 32"
Medium: Screenprint on Lenox Museum Board.
Edition: Edition of 200, 30 AP, 5 PP, 3 EP, 25 TP, signed and numbered in pencil. Portfolio of 10.
Hidden

As depicted in Sarah Bernhardt 234, Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress and has been referred to as “the most famous actress the world has ever known.” Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s at the beginning of the Belle Epoque period. She was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas. She developed a reputation as a serious dramatic actress, earning the nickname “The Divine Sarah.” Bernhardt is one of three women in Warhol’sTen Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century portfolio, along with Golda Meir and Gertrude Stein. 

Sarah Bernhardt 234 by Andy Warhol as Part of His Larger Body of Work

Warhol became fascinated with a group of influential Jewish figures – a pantheon of great thinkers, politicians, performers, musicians and writers, including renowned actress Sarah Bernhardt. In Warhol’s Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century portfolio, Sarah Bernhardt’s portrait is featured alongside others such as Martin Buber, Louis Brandeis, Einstein, Sigmund Freud, George Gershwin, Franz Kafka, the Marx Brothers, Golda Meir, and Gertrude Stein. The collective achievements of these famous Jews changed the course of the twentieth century and may be said to have influenced every aspect of human experience.

Photo credit: Napoleon Sarony, Sarah Bernhardt, 1880. Sepia albumen print, cabinet card, 6.5 3 4.25 in. (16.5 3 10.8 cm). Text in image states, Copyright 1880 by N. Sarony No. 52.” Author’s collection.

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