On May 24, 1981, Andy Warhol and Jon Gould made a day trip from East Falmouth to Chappaquiddick to retrace the route in Ted Kennedy’s accident case. The diary turns a celebrity-filled island excursion into a small investigation: after following the steps and hearing a local account, the two reached their own conclusion about Kennedy’s guilt.

The trip to Martha’s Vineyard

Warhol and Gould began at Falmouth Harbor, where they chartered a 70-foot boat Warhol liked. The crossing to Martha’s Vineyard took an hour. Gould wore the long string of pearls Warhol had given him; Warhol described the effect as beautiful and likened Gould’s appearance to that of a deep-sea fisherman.

They arrived at Oak Bluff, known in the entry for its gingerbread houses, and photographed a wedding. The bride was Irish and the groom was from South America. From there they drove to Edgartown, where hunger interrupted the sightseeing. At the Colonial Inn, people brought out copies of Popism and Interview for Warhol to autograph. One child brought a Tate Gallery poster of Warhol’s Marilyn painting. The diary records lunch as costing $120.

Retracing the accident

After Edgartown, Warhol and Gould took the car ferry to Chappaquiddick, which cost five dollars. There they photographed a man who gave them his full account of where the incident happened, how it happened, and why he did not believe the account of it. The entry presents the visit as an effort to test the story against the place rather than as a simple stop on their tour.

They retraced the steps associated with the accident and considered whether Ted Kennedy had been guilty. Warhol records their conclusion plainly: they decided that he had been. The diary establishes this as the judgment Warhol and Gould reached after their visit; it does not offer a separate account of the evidence or represent their conclusion as an official finding.

The return and change of plan

Back in East Falmouth, Gould called his family in Amesbury. He then told Warhol that his grandfather had suffered a stroke and his dog had relapsed. Rather than return to New York with Warhol, Gould wanted to be dropped off in Amesbury. The change brings the day’s public excursion and private life together: after the pair had followed the circumstances of an accident, family illness and concern for a sick dog redirected their journey.