René Ricard

René Ricard is a poet and a recurring presence in the diaries’ account of New York art-world gatherings. He moves through openings and dinners among artists, writers, and other regulars, but his most consequential appearance is not simply social: his judgment of Andy Warhol’s work as decorative provokes an unusually public outburst. A later, more passing mention presents him again as a conspicuous talker, linking the confrontation to a recurring social persona.

Identity and Art-World Setting

At an opening described as having a punk atmosphere, Ricard was among the familiar young attendees. The scene was crowded with people carrying their own cameras and looking in vain for celebrities to photograph; Ricard, by contrast, becomes important in the account for what he said rather than for celebrity spectacle. David Bourdon and Gregory Battcock were also present, though the diarist noted that there was no chance to talk with them.

Ricard’s position in the art and literary worlds also carried institutional recognition. Philippa had invited him to a gathering at 65 Irving after her Dia Foundation signed him up for benefits as its first poet. The occasion brought together an art-world circle that included Jed, John Reinhold, John Fairchild Jr., William Pitt, and Henry Post. Ricard thus arrived not as an incidental stranger but as a newly recognized poet entering a social setting where artistic standing and personal connections were closely visible.

The Dispute at 65 Irving

At 65 Irving, Ricard said that Warhol’s work was merely decorative. The diarist became furious, blushed, and told him off; the argument escalated into reciprocal shouting, and the people around them were stunned by the anger on display. The episode is presented as a rare loss of composure: the diarist was embarrassed that everyone had seen this unguarded reaction.

Ricard further inflamed the exchange by shouting that John Fairchild Jr. was the diarist’s boyfriend. The account compares the quarrel to an old fight with Ondine, emphasizing its theatrical, escalating character without suggesting that the two disputes had the same cause. Henry Post, whom Bob had worried might write exposé-style articles, missed the confrontation because he was seated at another table. The detail matters to the scene’s social stakes: the argument was witnessed by the gathering, but not by the person whose presence had prompted concern about publicity.

The diarist also dismisses Ricard’s recurring talk about being entertained by wealthy people and obtaining things for free, saying that he repeated the same idea. This complaint sits beside the force of Ricard’s criticism: his sharp assessment of Warhol’s work could provoke a vehement response, even as the diarist portrayed his broader repertoire of talk as repetitive.

A Recurring Social Presence

In a later entry, dated November 1, 1979, Ricard appears at Ronnie’s art opening among the familiar regulars of the sixties. The diarist characterizes him as someone who says nothing and simply runs around saying things. The compressed, contradictory description makes his talk itself the point: Ricard is remembered less for a particular statement at this opening than for restless verbal activity.

Together, the scenes place Ricard at the intersection of artistic judgment and social performance. At 65 Irving, his assessment of Warhol’s work exposed a genuine point of friction and produced a public rupture; at Ronnie’s opening, his presence is reduced to a repeated manner of circulating and talking. The diary preserves both the force of the clash and the repetition that, in the diarist’s view, defined Ricard’s conversation.