A Night at Max’s Kansas City: Seeing and Being Seen in the 1970s NYC Art World

Pat Lipsky | Literary Hub | 9th October 2025

Montmartre was the art world’s epicentre in 1890, In the 1950’s it was Max’s Kansas City bar in New York. “You’d see handsome Bob Mapplethorpe with … Patti Smith. Their plans already incorporated the power shift we couldn’t quite feel taking place under our feet. [There was] acknowledgment: [Andy] had found this surprising and direct route to money. A moment when the wheels came off and the chassis sat there and you realized the art world was a small place bounded by compromise and disappointment.”