In 1981, six years before his death, Andy Warhol dedicated the spring to a limited series of paintings commissioned by Donald Trump. The American tycoon, then 34, asked the artist for paintings inspired by Trump Tower, which was still under construction, to adorn the atrium of his first architectural project, located at 725 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

“The skyscrapers of New York are a testament to Warhol’s ability to capture the spirit of an era characterized by excess,” said Phillips Auction House, which has now sold one of the paintings for $952,500.

However, Trump hated that particular painting. “Mr. Trump was very annoyed that he was not color coordinated”Warhol wrote in his diary on August 5, 1981. Thus, Trump rejected all eight of Warhol’s works and refused to pay him. “I think Trump is kind of stingy, I get that feeling”the artist wrote.

More than four decades later, the “Skyscrapers of New York” have achieved recognition denied by the current president-elect of the United States and were acquired at auction in New York by an anonymous buyer.

The work in question, in which Warhol depicts in his own way the iconic skyscraper, from whose escalators Trump descended when he announced his first bid for the White House in 2015, has been in the gallerist’s collection for years and of Warhol’s close friend, Bruno Bischofberger, based in Switzerland. It was featured prominently in the 2001 “Gems and Skyscrapers” exhibition at Bischofberger’s gallery in Zurich, Switzerland. Today, two of the eight paintings in the series are in the permanent collection of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. None of them had been auctioned before.

Donald Trump

Trump and Warhol did not continue their relationship after the failed commission. The acquaintance had been made by the artistic director of “Interview” magazine, Marc Balet, who was working on the selection of stores that would open inside the atrium of Trump Tower. However, it was the tycoon’s then-wife, Ivana Trump (they were married from 1977 to 1990), who suggested that her husband meet with the well-known artist to discuss the possibility of painting the paintings intended for the interior. of the building. “It was so strange, these people are so rich. They talked about buying a building yesterday for 500 million. dollars or something”the artist wrote in his diary after their first meeting. “Nothing settled, but I’ll make some paintings anyway and show them.”

After the skyscraper was completed in November 1983 and his work had been rejected, Warhol met the Trumps again at a party in New York thrown for Roy Cohn, a lawyer and adviser to the business magnate. In his diaries, Warhol describes the tense meeting he had with Ivana, who died in 2022. Years later, Warhol was invited to Trump Tower, but arrived late to annoy Trump.