Jewish Identities and Celebrity Personas of Andy Warhol Muses Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor Focus of Intimate Exhibition Opening September 25

On view at the Jewish Museum from September 25, 2015 to February 7, 2016, Becoming Jewish: Warhol’s Liz and Marilyn presents a close look at two of Andy Warhol’s muses, Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe, exploring the Jewish identities of Warhol’s most celebrated subjects. Becoming Jewish: Warhol’s Liz and Marilyn is organized by Joanna Montoya Robotham, Neubauer Family Foundation Assistant Curator.

Publicity Still of Elizabeth Taylor, Source for Warhol’s ‘Silver Liz,’ 1957. Collection of The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Image provided by The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh.

Andy Warhol, Liz, 1964, offset lithograph on paper. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. 1998.1.2374. Credit: The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Marilyn Monroe, Source for Warhol’s ‘Marilyn’ Series, c. 1953. Collection of The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Image provided by The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh.

Both Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor converted to Judaism in the 1950s. Warhol was fascinated by their star power and used publicity stills to create his now iconic portraits in the early 1960s. This intimate, single-gallery exhibition features several portraits of these renowned actresses alongside a large selection of photographs, letters, and ephemera, shedding new light on their relationships with Judaism and Warhol’s interest in celebrity culture.

John Huston, Marilyn Monroe, Arthur Miller. Image shot 1961. Exact date unknown. Image provided by Photos 12/Alamy

DN8Y3N Aug. 26, 2002 – MIKE TODD, ELIZABETH TAYLOR and EDDIE FISHER., 1957. (Photo Credit: NATE CUTLER). Images provided by ZUMA Press, INC./ALAMY, http://www.ZUMAPRESS.com

In 1959, at the age of 27, Elizabeth Taylor converted to Judaism in a ceremony at Temple Israel in Hollywood. She considered converting to Judaism prior to her marriage to theater and film producer Mike Todd, but it wasn’t until after Todd’s death that she began to study with Rabbi Max Nussbaum at Temple Israel. Taylor remained an ardent supporter of Jewish causes throughout her life.

William John Kennedy, Homage to Warhol’s Marilyn, 1964, East 47th Street Factory, New York City, Gelatin silver print, 28 x 22 in, from William John Kennedy: The Warhol Museum Edition. Courtesy of www.kiwiartsgroup.com and www.warhol.org/editions.

Evelyn Hofer, Andy Warhol standing in the Factory with a Liz painting and several screens in the background, January 29, 1964, Gelatin silver print, Overall: 14 x 11 in. (35.6 x 27.9 cm) The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, TC31.115.8. Images provided by the estate of Evelyn Hofer.

Prior to her wedding to playwright Arthur Miller, Marilyn Monroe expressed interest in converting to Judaism. She was impressed with Jewish ideals and she studied with Miller’s rabbi, Robert Goldburg, to learn more about Judaism. Rabbi Goldburg performed Monroe’s Ceremony of Conversion preceding the couple’s wedding in June 1956. Although Monroe and Miller divorced in 1961, Monroe expressed to the rabbi her unwavering commitment to the Jewish faith.

Becoming Jewish: Warhol’s Liz and Marilyn is divided into three sections—“Celebrity,” focused on Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor’s public image; “Conversion,” detailing their personal lives and Jewish identities; and “Myth & Legend,” exploring Warhol’s fascination with these celebrities and the impact of his work on their iconic status.

Elizabeth Taylor on the cover of Screen Stories, September 1959

Marilyn Monroe on the cover of Modern Screen, November 1956.

The “Celebrity” section features photographs, newsreels, and magazine covers demonstrating the public’s fascination with Monroe and Taylor. Highlights include video clips of Taylor’s Oscar speech, Monroe performing for American troops in Korea, and fan magazines such as Modern Screen, Screen Stories, and Motion Picture that surfaced in the 1950s to feed the public’s hunger for celebrities. Photographs and newsreel excerpts illustrate the public’s obsession with the actresses’ movie feats, love affairs, and broken hearts, as well as their struggles with the limelight.

12 May 1959, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA — Original caption: 5/12/1959- Las Vegas, NV- Eddie Fisher and Elizabeth Taylor are shown after their wedding at Temple Beth Shalom. No pictures were allowed during the actual wedding ceremony. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

1975, Jerusalem, Israel — Elizabeth Taylor at Western Wall — Image by © David Rubinger/CORBIS

“Conversion” traces the Jewish journeys of Monroe and Taylor, featuring a case of conversion-related material including a rarely-heard audio recording of Elizabeth Taylor’s conversion ceremony and a facsimile of Monroe’s Certificate of Conversion. This section will also explore the actresses’ Jewish lives through ephemera such as her musical menorah, letters from Rabbi Goldburg describing his relationship with the Marilyn Monroe and the Miller family, and documentation of Taylor’s lifelong commitment to Jewish philanthropy.

Andy Warhol, Marilyn, 1967, screen print on paper. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. 1998.1.2374. (Credit: The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Andy Warhol, Blue Liz, 1963, synthetic ink on canvas. Private Collection. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York.

The exhibition concludes by examining the legacy of Monroe and Taylor through the lens of Andy Warhol’s now-iconic portraits. Featuring four Warhol works—two paintings and two prints—the “Myth & Legend” section reveals how the portraits reflect the glamorous yet complex identities of these subjects. Monroe and Taylor represented themes of great interest to Warhol: glamour, beauty, scandal, death, and media spectacle. His canvases of the actresses in the early 1960s coincided with his initial explorations of silkscreen painting and serial imagery. The repeated use of a single image altered slightly, either at the hand of the artist or due to the silkscreening process, enhanced Warhol’s exploration of the celebrity persona as illusion. Warhol’s artistic process in creating these portraits is explored through photography and ephemera from his studio, further demonstrating the artist’s obsession with celebrity and with Monroe and Taylor in particular.

Becoming Jewish: Warhol’s Liz and Marilyn is made possible, in part, by the Neubauer Family Foundation.

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