Wednesday, March 5, 1980Picked John Reinhold up and we walked over to lunch at Pearl’s. We talked about diamond dust. The dust is actually just like powder, but the chips are what would look pretty and they would make a painting cost $20,000 or $30,000. It was nice to see Pearl again.Andy Warhol and Pat HackettThe Andy Warhol Diaries - Warner Books, NY 1989
1980-1981 | Andy Warhol | Diamond Dust Shoes
Source: The Indipendent
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For his first big series of paintings and prints of the eighties, Andy reached back to his fifties staple: shoes. The Diamond Dust Shoes of 1980 actually started out as an advertising assignment from another staple: Halston. Victor Hugo sent down a big box of various styles to be photographed for the ad campaign of Halston’s shoe licensee, Garolini.
Ronnie turned the box upside down and dumped the shoes out. Andy liked the way they looked spilled all over the floor. So he took a few Polaroids and had Ronnie take a lot more.
Bob Colacello
From: Holy Terror. Andy Warhol Close Up (Harper Collins Publishers, 1990)
1980-1981 | Andy Warhol | Diamond Dust Shoes
Source: Phillips Auction
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The diamond dust idea was stolen from Rupert Smith, who had been using the industrial-grade ground-up stones on some prints of his own. He was foolish enough to tell Andy where to buy it and foolish enough to be surprised when it turned up as Andy’s art. “Oh, it fell on my painting and stuck,” said Andy.
Bob Colacello
From: Holy Terror. Andy Warhol Close Up (Harper Collins Publishers, 1990)
1980 | Andy Warhol | Diamond Dust Shoes
Source: Phillips Auction
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Thursday, August 6, 1981
… John Reinhold sent me 500 carats of diamond dust for a present. It’s like half a can of tomato soup-size. And he sent me twenty-seven roses. Diamond dust can kill you. It’s a good way to murder somebody.
Andy Warhol and Pat Hackett
The Andy Warhol Diaries - Warner Books, NY 1989
1980 | Andy Warhol | Diamond Dust Shoes
Source: Phillips Auction
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1980 | Andy Warhol | Diamond Dust (J. Magnin) Shoes
Source: Phillips Auction
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1980 | Andy Warhol | Diamond Dust Shoes
Source: Phillips Auction
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1980-1981 | Andy Warhol | Diamond Dust Shoes
Source: Phillips Auction
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1981 | Andy Warhol | Diamond Dust Shoes
Source: Phillips Auction
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1980 | Andy Warhol | Diamon Dust Shoes
Source: Art Actuel
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It was the first time since I had started working for Andy that I was totally turned off by his work. He said I didn’t know what I was talking about, adding just to be sure to get Mrs. Garolini to buy a big one for their showroom. I did, but it was one of the few sales none of Andy’s dealers in Europe or America wanted to do a Diamond Dust Shoes show.
Bob Colacello
From: Holy Terror. Andy Warhol Close Up (Harper Collins Publishers, 1990)