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‘Then a woman with a bullwhip walked into the lift’: my 17 years painting the demimonde of New York’s Chelsea hotel
Hull’s David Remfry was ‘artist in residence’ at the legendary hotel, portraying dominatrixes, drag acts and rock stars – including an annoyingly twitchy Dee Dee Ramone in a room smelling of glue. He relives a ‘magic time’
Memorialised in song by former residents Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Nico, New York’s Hotel Chelsea has housed an astonishing clientele of artists, writers and mavericks including Brendan Behan, Arthur C Clarke (who called it his “ spiritual home ”), Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock. Photograph: nito/AlamyBard eventually installed Remfry and his wife Caroline in a 12th-floor studio with a roof garden and “fantastic views of the World Trade Center on one side and the Empire State Building on the other”. “Stanley really loved artists.” Remfry painted many of the hotel’s celebrity residents, including Ethan Hawke, Quentin Crisp, “party queen” Susanne Bartsch and, of course, the Ramones’ legendary bassist and songwriter.
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