EYE CANDY

That Time Andy Warhol Kissed John Lennon, and More of Christopher Makos’s Studio 54-Era Snapshots

July 15, 2017

There were plenty of revelers that latched onto the scene in the ’70s and ’80s that was Studio 54, but take it from Lou Reed: Christopher Makos was not one of those hangers-on. “Makos was actually there,” he once said of the photographer. “A participant from the inside, not a latecomer from the outside.” Still, there seems to be no better evidence of that than Makos’s photos, which picture Andy Warhol everywhere from New York to Detroit to Paris—as well as in intimate scenes like the artist applying Debbie Harry‘s makeup, not to mention kissing John Lennon. None have aged a bit, and all are now available via Paddle8’s auction starting on Tuesday, which showcases the best of relationship with Warhol, whom Makos, after apprenticing with Man Ray, even taught how to use his first camera—as well as introduced to the art of pals like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Take a look back all three artists, plus a relatively baby-faced Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, in their glory days, here.