JOHN FROST NEWSPAPERS © THE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION FOR THE VISUAL ARTS, INC. NEWSPAPERSARTWORK © 2019 THE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION FOR THE VISUAL ARTS, INC. / LICENSED BY DACS, LONDON. PHOTO © COLLECTION OF JIM HEDGES, COURTESY HEDGES PROJECTS CHOW; BEN BUCHANAN WARHOL AND CHOWabout to go to hospital to have his gallbladder removed. Four
days later, he would be pronounced dead.
As opposed to being groomed for the cameras, my rst
day at the Warhol Studio meant elding calls about his shock
demise. And so my two-and-a-half-year career began at the
newly named Andy Warhol Enterprises. I became the last
person to be hired by Andy and the nal “English mun” in
what Vincent Fremont, once the vice-president of Andy War-
hol Enterprises, described as “a great cycle of women” that be-
gan with Lady Anne Lambton in 1971. In spite of being “a real
liability” by her own admission—“I wouldn’t let Lou Reed and
Bob Dylan into the factory, I couldn’t take messages and sobbed
because I didn’t know how to work the Xerox machine”—Anne’s
humour came in handy when Warhol and Hughes wined
and dined potential portrait candidates.
My social skills were also clocked, even if the overworked
Vincent would occasionally hiss, “Natasha, what do you
do exactly?” Having been raised in politics—my late father
was a Conservative MPI excelled at meeting and greeting
people. Many arrived with their Warhol works, eager for a
certicate that was stamped then signed by Fred, the exec-
utor of Warhol’s estate. There was also the appearance of
Halston, the fashion designer.
Movie star handsome, as de-
picted in Warhol’s portrait, he
gave an impression that his body
was fluid and faultless. Julian
Schnabel, on the other hand,came dressed in pyjamas
while Basquiat, a former
Warhol collaborator,
had needle marks all
over his hands. Marisa
Berenson deined Pa-
risian chic, even if her
Warhol portrait height-
ened the drama of
her 1987 divorce. Her
lawyer husband Richard
Golub claimed that it
was half his.
Brigid Berlin—a.k.a.
Brigid Polk, one of
Warhol’s Superstars—
oficially manned the phones. Most attention was paid to
the pug dogs, Fame and Fortune, that lay at her feet. She
and I would ght tooth and nail about the air conditioning.
Often it became childish. Privately, I was highly amused
when Brigid, an heiress, declared, “Natasha is the sort of
woman who takes books out of the library.” A huge roll of
Elvis portraits—cut according to demand—was upstairs
in Andy’s former gym. I had no idea of its worth, nor did I
realise that he refused to insure anything. Staggering when
The New York Times stated that the estate’s art inventory
included 700 paintings, 9,000 drawings, 19,000 prints
and 66,000 photographs, as well as works by contemporary
artists. According to Fremont, “Andy never wanted people
to know what he had.” He thought about insuring his “rainy
day paintings” (his invaluable 1960s portraits) but abruptly
stopped when “he realised that he would have to reveal what
he had.” This is even more extraordinary considering the
ire hazard attached to every working studio. Jay Shriver,
Andy’s chief assistant, was bossy but honest. However, I
wondered about some of the others. One certain individ-
ual kept on crying, insisting that he had seen his ghost. It
sounded intriguing until I noticed his pupils were pinned.
Years later, he tried to sell an iconic 1960s portrait,
claiming that the artist had given it to him.
When I irst arrived, my desk had been a
brass-and-marble 1930s marvel that Andy had
picked up on one of his European trips. Albeit
outlandish, I was sad when it was taken away for
the Sotheby’s sale. Ten thousand of his items were
being sold in order to inance the Andy Warhol
Foundation for the Visual Arts in 1988. Breaking all
estimates, it made $25 million. Happy as I was
for Fred, my favourite moments in the studio
were his “Frederick of Union Square” sessions
when he used to perform Sellotape nose jobs and
face-lifts to anyone who was standing nearby.
The aesthetic improvements happened late in
the afternoon. “Fraser, this reaaally does
wonders,” he would say, giving me a piggy snout.
I think Andy would have been amused and
might even have taken a Polaroid—even if a
portrait was way beyond my reach.PRESS FOR SUCCESS
Above, from left: The Independent on
Sunday reports the sale of Eight Elvises,
2009; the Evening Standard reports the sale
of Triple Elvis Presley 2014CHOW FOR NOW
Left: Warhol and Mr. Chow at AREA
nightclub in New York, 1985.
Above: a Polaroid photograph of
Chow taken by Warhol, 198056 VANITY FAIR ON ART NOVEMBER 201911-19-Warhol-Portraits-Fraser.indd 56 20/09/2019 13:17