Ten Jewish Geniuses portfolio

The Ten Jewish Geniuses portfolio was a numbered print portfolio whose strong sales shaped discussion of what might come next. In Andy Warhol’s account, its success was not simply a reason to repeat the formula: he wondered whether its specifically Jewish subject had been central to its appeal, and used that possibility to imagine another Jewish-themed portfolio.

Numbering and Sales

On April 11, 1980, Rupert came in while Warhol was numbering portfolios. The work had “really sold,” Warhol noted, making its reception a practical prompt for planning further portfolio projects. The diary records the numbering alongside the sales report, linking the portfolio’s physical production to the commercial decision about what to make next.

The Question of Its Appeal

Warhol questioned whether the portfolio had sold because its subjects were Jewish. He treated that explanation as a possibility rather than a settled conclusion, but it redirected the conversation: instead of simply repeating the existing title’s success, he considered extending its Jewish theme into another portfolio.

Proposed Successors

Ron Feldman wanted to follow the portfolio with Ten Rock Stars. Warhol thought that idea was corny and floated Ten Phantoms, comparing the notion to Santa Claus. He then returned to the question of the earlier portfolio’s appeal and proposed a Jewish-themed alternative, Ten Jewish Rock Stars. The diary presents these as competing ideas under discussion, not as completed projects; the portfolio’s documented sequel in this passage is a proposal, not an outcome.