Mapplethorpe Foundation Denied Roy Cohn Photo Use For Biography

(MENAFN- USA Art News) The Mapplethorpe Foundation reportedly declined an author's request to feature a Robert Mapplethorpe photograph of Roy M. Cohn on the cover of a new biography about the political operative. The decision was first reported by the New York Times.

According to three individuals familiar with the foundation's internal discussions who spoke to the Times, the board was concerned that using the image on the cover of the biography, American Scoundrel, could be perceived as a political gesture. Written by Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark, the book's cover selection also prompted worries that former President Donald Trump might be offended, potentially leading to retaliation that could deplete the foundation's limited resources. Cohn served as an early mentor to Trump during his initial ventures in New York real estate, reportedly teaching him many press strategy lessons that Trump continues to employ.

Bird expressed strong disapproval of the foundation's stance to the Times, stating,“It's astonishing that these people are being so cowed, so easily.” He added that he was“thunderstruck” and“outraged” by their decision. Ultimately, Bird and his publisher chose a photograph of Cohn by Britain Hill for the cover.

Mapplethorpe, celebrated for his distinctive black-and-white portraits of notable 20th-century artists, captured the controversial image of Cohn in 1981. The photograph, simply titled Roy Cohn, presents Cohn's“floating head” against a stark black background, with the subject staring menacingly into the camera. Mapplethorpe originally took the picture to accompany Steven M.L. Aronson's profile of Cohn in Andy Warhol's Interview magazine. Aronson recounted that Cohn admired the portrait and later shared a meal with Mapplethorpe and the writer. The Mapplethorpe Foundation later gifted the photo to LACMA and the J. Paul Getty Trust in 2011.

We previously reported:

The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation refused to license a 1981 Roy Cohn portrait for a new biography, fearing political backlash over the book's Trump depiction.

Source: Artforum

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