New Hope, Pennsylvania, appears in Andy Warhol’s diary as the destination of a March 8, 1986, trip from New York and as a place sharply divided between a picturesque private house and a social scene that unsettled him. The visit combined a conversation about art projects with lunch, antique shops, and an extended portrait of the town filtered through Warhol’s reactions.

Arrival and Setting

John Reinhold drove Warhol to New Hope in his Japanese car so that they could talk with Rupert Jason Smith about art projects. Smith’s house, a converted mill, struck Warhol as a stage set: parts of it evoked ancient Rome, with ruins among the rooms. Two Bentleys, four Persian cats, and fireplaces kept burning added to the impression of a lavish, deliberately composed world.

Hospitality at the house was equally memorable for its food. Smith’s cousin had come from New York to make a cake and had baked bread as well; Warhol singled out the bread as especially good. After returning from their outing, the party ate dessert and more bread before setting off for New York at 7:30 in the evening.

The Town in Warhol’s Account

Warhol characterized New Hope as overwhelmingly gay, estimating that 90 percent of its residents were gay. At Ramona’s, where they ate lunch at 2 p.m., a drag queen served them among older gay men drinking in the afternoon. Warhol found the atmosphere too gay for his comfort and likened it to a time warp, describing the place as a gay hotel-motel.

His description lingered on the drag queen’s appearance: a blonde beehive hairstyle that reminded him of Smith’s mother, trousers, and a four-inch leather belt cinched tightly at the waist. When a man told Smith he was an alien, Smith replied, “I am not an alien. I am Rupert Jason Smith.” The exchange made Warhol uneasy. Smith then insisted that Warhol leave the server a generous tip because she had stayed open for them; Warhol paid $25.

The Visit’s Course and Significance

After lunch, the pair visited antique shops that Warhol described as run by gay sons and heavyset mothers, then returned to Smith’s house. The day’s account moves from discussion of art to a succession of sharply observed social details, with Warhol’s discomfort set against Smith’s easy belonging in the town. The $60 lunch, the $25 tip, and the bread and cake at the house give the visit a practical itinerary as well as its distinctive social atmosphere.