Mapplethorpe Foundation Denies Roy Cohn Portrait for Trump Biography
The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation has opted not to permit the use of a 1981 portrait of Roy Cohn on the cover of "American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump," a biography authored by Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark. This iconic photograph, captured by Robert Mapplethorpe, showcases Cohn against a stark black backdrop and was originally intended for an Interview magazine article by Steven M.L. Aronson, who convinced Cohn to sit for the photo. The nonprofit foundation, designated as a 501(c)(3), expressed concerns about political ramifications and possible fallout from the Trump administration. Bird labeled the decision as excessively cautious. Cohn, who passed away in 1986, was known for his public anti-homosexual stance while hiding his personal life. Mapplethorpe died in 1989, and a print of the portrait is currently in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Key facts
- The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation denied a license for a 1981 portrait of Roy Cohn to be used on the cover of a new biography by Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark.
- The biography is titled 'American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump'.
- The photograph was taken by Robert Mapplethorpe in 1981 for an interview in Interview magazine.
- The foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, feared political implications of licensing the image for a book critical of President Trump.
- Kai Bird criticized the decision as 'stunned' and 'indignant'.
- The refusal has raised concerns about political pressure on cultural institutions during Trump's second term.
- Mapplethorpe's work has a history of censorship, including the 1989 cancellation of his retrospective at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
- A print of the Cohn portrait is in the collections of LACMA and the J. Paul Getty Trust, donated in 2011.
Entities
Artists
- Robert Mapplethorpe
- Roy Cohn
- Andy Warhol
- Kai Bird
- Susan Goldmark
- Steven M.L. Aronson
- Donald Trump
- Joseph McCarthy
Institutions
- Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation
- New York Times
- Interview magazine
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- J. Paul Getty Trust
- Corcoran Gallery of Art
- National Endowment for the Arts
- Smithsonian Institution
- John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Washington