Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation
Print subscriptions
Search jobs
Sign in
A clown performer interacting with someone between cars, photographed by Albert Scopin-Schoepflin

Artists, clowns, runaways: a stay at the Chelsea Hotel – in pictures

Patti Smith lived there in ‘creative chaos’, while others paid their bills with paintings. Fellow guest Albert Scopin unpacked his camera to capture the iconic New York hotel and its clientele

Made up … Clown Girl, 1970. Photograph: Albert Scopin
Thu 16 Apr 2026 08.00 CEST
Share
Chelsea Hotel Entrance, 1970While residing at New York’s Chelsea Hotel from 1969 to 1971, Albert Scopin documented the everyday lives of the people who came and went. The hotel is a living monument to a past era, a place of creativity and a witness to countless stories that unfolded within its walls. Since its construction in 1884, this iconic building has been a magnet for generations of artists, writers, musicians, free minds and kindred spirits all seeking refuge and, above all, inspiration in its timeworn rooms. Chelsea Hotel by Albert Scopin is published by Kerber Verlag

Chelsea Hotel Entrance, 1970

While residing at New York’s Chelsea Hotel from 1969 to 1971, Albert Scopin documented the everyday lives of the people who came and went. The hotel is a living monument to a past era, a place of creativity and a witness to countless stories that unfolded within its walls. Since its construction in 1884, this iconic building has been a magnet for generations of artists, writers, musicians, free minds and kindred spirits all seeking refuge and, above all, inspiration in its timeworn rooms. Chelsea Hotel by Albert Scopin is published by Kerber Verlag
Share
Chelsea Hotel Reception, 1971For more than 40 years Stanley Bard (centre with glasses) was the Chelsea’s director and hotel manager. Stanley started out at the Chelsea in 1957 as a plumber’s assistant, employed by his father, who co-owned the hotel. After his father died in 1964 Stanley took over. If an artist couldn’t pay the bill, Stanley would let them pay with a painting. This gave rise to a notable collection, which could be admired in the foyer and corridors. He clung tenaciously to his positive spirit and his unshakeable belief that there is good in everyone

Chelsea Hotel Reception, 1971

For more than 40 years Stanley Bard (centre with glasses) was the Chelsea’s director and hotel manager. Stanley started out at the Chelsea in 1957 as a plumber’s assistant, employed by his father, who co-owned the hotel. After his father died in 1964 Stanley took over. If an artist couldn’t pay the bill, Stanley would let them pay with a painting. This gave rise to a notable collection, which could be admired in the foyer and corridors. He clung tenaciously to his positive spirit and his unshakeable belief that there is good in everyone
Share
Patti Smith, 1970 Albert Scopin: ‘I met Patti and Robert Mapplethorpe at a nude photoshoot in Bill King’s studio when I was working as his assistant. At that time, in 1969 and 1970, Bill King was doing those shoots almost daily, usually in the evenings after commercial studio production had stopped. Robert was visibly uncomfortable about those pictures but Patti was full of energy, the exact opposite of Robert. Her presence filled the studio. It seemed as if she could run up walls and along ceilings. That woman made a deep impression on Bill, and on me too’

Patti Smith, 1970

Albert Scopin: ‘I met Patti and Robert Mapplethorpe at a nude photoshoot in Bill King’s studio when I was working as his assistant. At that time, in 1969 and 1970, Bill King was doing those shoots almost daily, usually in the evenings after commercial studio production had stopped. Robert was visibly uncomfortable about those pictures but Patti was full of energy, the exact opposite of Robert. Her presence filled the studio. It seemed as if she could run up walls and along ceilings. That woman made a deep impression on Bill, and on me too’
Share
George Kleinsinger, 1970George Kleinsinger made his name with his children’s song Tubby the Tuba, and with his compositions for Broadway and cinema. He was a close friend of the Irish writer Brendan Behan, who also lived at the Chelsea, as documented by Janet Behan’s play Brendan at the Chelsea. Kleinsinger was at the hotel for 25 years. He was known for his apartment full of tropical birds, snakes, lizards, spiders and a small baby hippo. He died at the Chelsea. His ashes were scattered on the hotel roof

George Kleinsinger, 1970

George Kleinsinger made his name with his children’s song Tubby the Tuba, and with his compositions for Broadway and cinema. He was a close friend of the Irish writer Brendan Behan, who also lived at the Chelsea, as documented by Janet Behan’s play Brendan at the Chelsea. Kleinsinger was at the hotel for 25 years. He was known for his apartment full of tropical birds, snakes, lizards, spiders and a small baby hippo. He died at the Chelsea. His ashes were scattered on the hotel roof
Share
Vali Myers, 1970Vali Myers was an Australian artist, vagabond and activist. She left home at 14 and worked in factories before she became a dancer at the Melbourne Modern Ballet Company. At 19 she was in Paris, living on the street, dancing in cafes. Here she met Sartre, Cocteau, Genet and many others. After a period of opium addiction she left France and ended up at the Chelsea Hotel, where she tattooed Patti Smith’s knee and met Dalí, Warhol and Tennessee Williams. She was the inspiration for Williams’ character Carol Cutrere, the drifter in his play Orpheus Descending

Vali Myers, 1970

Vali Myers was an Australian artist, vagabond and activist. She left home at 14 and worked in factories before she became a dancer at the Melbourne Modern Ballet Company. At 19 she was in Paris, living on the street, dancing in cafes. Here she met Sartre, Cocteau, Genet and many others. After a period of opium addiction she left France and ended up at the Chelsea Hotel, where she tattooed Patti Smith’s knee and met Dalí, Warhol and Tennessee Williams. She was the inspiration for Williams’ character Carol Cutrere, the drifter in his play Orpheus Descending
Share
Patti’s room, 1970 ‘Both Patti’s and Mapplethorpe’s apartments made a big impression on me. Especially Patti’s. The chaos there was so real, unvarnished and yet everything in the right place. That’s how Patti was back then. In fact, though, she is a very sensitive, fragile person, but she would never let herself be broken. That’s her secret. She tells us all these stories in her songs. Mapplethorpe was quite different. What impressed me about him was his art, his erotic collages, he wasn’t taking photographs yet, but we talked almost exclusively about photography’

Patti’s room, 1970

‘Both Patti’s and Mapplethorpe’s apartments made a big impression on me. Especially Patti’s. The chaos there was so real, unvarnished and yet everything in the right place. That’s how Patti was back then. In fact, though, she is a very sensitive, fragile person, but she would never let herself be broken. That’s her secret. She tells us all these stories in her songs. Mapplethorpe was quite different. What impressed me about him was his art, his erotic collages, he wasn’t taking photographs yet, but we talked almost exclusively about photography’
Share
Shirley Clarke, Holly Woodlawn, and Rosa von Praunheim on the roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1970Raised as Haroldo Santiago Danhakl, Holly Woodlawn was an American actor and transgender activist. In the early 1970s she was one of the Warhol superstars and part of the Factory scene. Holly starred in the movies Trash (1970) and Flesh (1968) made by Paul Morrissey and Warhol. Other films she was in include Women in Revolt (1971) and Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers (1972). Lou Reed sang about her in 1972 in Walk on the Wild Side

Shirley Clarke, Holly Woodlawn and Rosa von Praunheim on the roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1970

Raised as Haroldo Santiago Danhakl, Holly Woodlawn was an American actor and transgender activist. In the early 1970s she was one of the Warhol superstars and part of the Factory scene. Holly starred in the movies Trash (1970) and Flesh (1968) made by Paul Morrissey and Warhol. Other films she was in include Women in Revolt (1971) and Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers (1972). Lou Reed sang about her in 1972 in Walk on the Wild Side
Share
Shirley Clarke, 1970 Shirley Clarke had the best apartment in the tower of the Chelsea Hotel. She had studied dance and choreography with Martha Graham and Hanya Holm and began her career as a dancer. In the early 1950s Shirley became an acknowledged filmmaker at a time when female directors were almost non-existent. In 1960 her movie Skyscraper was nominated for an Oscar in the best short category. She finally made it with her 1963 film A Lover’s Quarrel with the World, taking the Academy Award in 1964 for best documentary feature

Shirley Clarke, 1970

Shirley Clarke had the best apartment in the tower of the Chelsea Hotel. She had studied dance and choreography with Martha Graham and Hanya Holm and began her career as a dancer. In the early 1950s Shirley became an acknowledged film-maker at a time when female directors were almost non-existent. In 1960 her movie Skyscraper was nominated for an Oscar in the best short category. She finally made it with her 1963 film A Lover’s Quarrel with the World, taking the Academy Award in 1964 for best documentary feature
Share
Patti in Chaos, 1970‘Patti was focused in some ways but anarchic in others. Her room was the epitome of “creative” chaos. Her husky voice gave you goosebumps, especially when she was reciting her own poems, which she did happily and often. It was obvious that Patti was on her way up, she wanted to go on stage, she wanted to be seen and heard. You could sense that success was not far away, that she would be famous one day’

Patti in Chaos, 1970

‘Patti was focused in some ways but anarchic in others. Her room was the epitome of “creative” chaos. Her husky voice gave you goosebumps, especially when she was reciting her own poems, which she did happily and often. It was obvious that Patti was on her way up, she wanted to go on stage, she wanted to be seen and heard. You could sense that success was not far away, that she would be famous one day’
Share
Stella Waitzkin, 1970 ‘Stella was one of the first people I got to know at the Chelsea and she lived in Room 403. I was allowed to take tea with her. The room was very dark and full of objects that I couldn’t rightly make sense of. There were crystal balls and books in plastic covers on weighty furniture. The windows were hung with curtains in the same style and everything was quite dusty. Stella was a luminary. She knew everyone and she was kind to me. She talked nineteen to the dozen. Later I found out that she had works in the great American museums’

Stella Waitzkin, 1970

‘Stella was one of the first people I got to know at the Chelsea and she lived in Room 403. I was allowed to take tea with her. The room was very dark and full of objects that I couldn’t rightly make sense of. There were crystal balls and books in plastic covers on weighty furniture. The windows were hung with curtains in the same style and everything was quite dusty. Stella was a luminary. She knew everyone and she was kind to me. She talked nineteen-to-the-dozen. Later I found out that she had works in the great American museums’
Share
Runaway kids, 1970‘Their story touched me deeply. They were kids who had run away from home and got stranded in New York. No money, no knowledge of life, exposed to all the hazards of the big city. They lived a bit like animals, in tiny shelters where they tried to offer each other protection and warmth’

Runaway kids, 1970

‘Their story touched me deeply. They were kids who had run away from home and got stranded in New York. No money, no knowledge of life, exposed to all the hazards of the big city. They lived a bit like animals, in tiny shelters where they tried to offer each other protection and warmth’
Share
Robert Mapplethorpe, 1970‘Robert had his studio on the ground floor of the Chelsea annexe. The first time I visited him there in 1970 he was working on erotic collages that were fantastically bold. The next year he started experimenting with Polaroid material. Later he said of that experimental phase: “I began to understand that photography can be art”’

Robert Mapplethorpe, 1970

‘Robert had his studio on the ground floor of the Chelsea annexe. The first time I visited him there in 1970 he was working on erotic collages that were fantastically bold. The next year he started experimenting with Polaroid material. Later he said of that experimental phase: “I began to understand that photography can be art”’
Share
Richard Frederick Bernstein, 1970Richard was an artist and a pioneer of the pop art movement. He was a member of the scene that revolved around Andy Warhol’s downtown avant garde art space, the Factory. He transformed the hotel’s grand, opulent ballroom into an artist studio where he created multiple covers (189 in total) for Warhol’s Interview magazine, giving them their distinctive, bold and flamboyant style

Richard Frederick Bernstein, 1970

Richard was an artist and a pioneer of the pop art movement. He was a member of the scene that revolved around Andy Warhol’s downtown avant garde art space, the Factory. He transformed the hotel’s grand, opulent ballroom into an artist studio where he created multiple covers (189 in total) for Warhol’s Interview magazine, giving them their distinctive, bold and flamboyant style
Share
Clown Girl, 1970‘Living at the Chelsea were the most formative days of my life. Even though it wasn’t easy, it was a very special time for me. I met so many fascinating people who confronted me with new ideas and lifestyle. My entire value system collapsed and had to be rebuilt. These people accepted me warts and all, I was one of them. In that atmosphere of acceptance, all the anxieties that had been drummed into me burnt to a cinder. I remember days when I was aglow inside, aglow and aflame. I felt boundlessly free, never again in my later years did I have an experience like it’

Clown Girl, 1970

‘Living at the Chelsea were the most formative days of my life. Even though it wasn’t easy, it was a very special time for me. I met so many fascinating people who confronted me with new ideas and lifestyle. My entire value system collapsed and had to be rebuilt. These people accepted me warts and all, I was one of them. In that atmosphere of acceptance, all the anxieties that had been drummed into me burnt to a cinder. I remember days when I was aglow inside, aglow and aflame. I felt boundlessly free, never again in my later years did I have an experience like it’
Share
Explore more on these topics

Most viewed

Most viewed