this mf is ancient It was in 1981 and under the proviso of doing paintings of Trump Tower that Andy Warhol first came into contact with Donald Trump. After first meeting at The Factory their relationship turned bitterly sour when Trump declined to buy the beautiful series of Silkscreen paintings in black, silver, and gold Warhol had made for the tower’s lobby. In his diary Warhol writes “Mr Trump was very upset that it was not color-coordinated. I think Trump’s sort of cheap, I get that feeling.” From that moment on the artist could barely disguise his contempt—seething resentment flaring up every time he got stuck in traffic outside Trump Tower or on hearing Trump’s name, “I still hate the Trumps because they never bought the paintings I did of Trump Tower.” That their relationship never took off would surprise avid readers of Trump’s books which are littered with Warhol quotes. One of his favorite Warhol lines features in Think like a Champion, a quote regularly wheeled out by businessmen hoping to add a little spice to their financial success: “There’s a certain amount of bravado in what I do these days, and part of that bravado is to make it look easy. That’s why I’ve often referred to business as being an art. I’ve always liked Andy Warhol’s statement that, ‘making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.’ I agree.” It is of course intriguing to imagine what their relationship would have been like had the deal worked out. Would Warhol have begun a series of what would be now iconic Silkscreen prints, adorned with Trump’s face in the same way JFK’s and Marilyn Monroe’s have burned a path through 20th century art? Would Donald Trump’s face be featured in some of the greatest private art collections around the world? By Duncan Ballantyne-Way Photo: Donald Trump owner of New York’s Trump Tower, holds the bridle of a polo pony while talking to Andy Warhol. Photo by Mario Suriani