Interview: Studio 54 Insider Rose Hartman

Doris Duke and Andy Warhol. Photo courtesy of Rose Hartman.

Rose Hartman’s photographs are included in the Brooklyn Museum’s exhibition Studio 54: Night Magic. Read our review of the (temporarily closed) exhibit, here.

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Interview by Adrian Knowler

Adrian Knowler: Could you describe attending Studio 54 to party and shoot photographs?

Rose: It was incredible. I was invited in by Steve Rubell, the co-owner, and I never had to wait in line. I went for the early part of the evening, for the private parties, where they drank champagne. I could photograph all these people, nobody told me to stop or to move away. There were no publicists around, no signs promoting some beer. It truly was a place for anyone: gay or straight, poor or rich. In general, people who were not the jet-set came later, they bought the tickets that supported the club. The people who came early were guests, and they made it so desirable that the other people, the ‘normal’ people tried to get in.

Studio 54 co-owner Steve Rubell [left] with fashion designer Giorgio Sant’Angelo. Photo courtesy of Rose Hartman.

Adrian: How did you meet Steve Rubell? 

Rose: I met Steve in Coconut Grove, Florida. We were both staying at this hotel and we were in the elevator and we chatted and he said ‘I’m opening this club, and I’ll invite you.” I was a high school English teacher, it was really strange, to be both a teacher and go shoot at night. So I’d go uptown at like 9 o'clock when the private parties were taking place, for instance Valentino had a beautiful birthday party there. And then around 1 o'clock [in the morning] I’d take a cab home. I was never excessively late, because I also had to drop off the film on my way back downtown. I was teaching as a substitute teacher, and when I wasn’t teaching I’d go the next morning to [my agency] Globe Photos office and I would have to ID the subjects in the photos. I would always read the papers [to know who was important.] That was part of the job, knowing the people. They didn’t put up a poster [with their names]!

Left to right: Bethann Hardison, Daniela Morera, and Stephen Burrows. Photo courtesy of Rose Hartman.

Adrian: Did Steve invite you to the club to shoot photos? 

Rose: No, they didn’t ask me to shoot photos, but they knew I had a camera with me. Steve was very well aware of who was allowed in, and they also knew my photos were obviously very flattering, as you can see for yourself. They were never concerned that I would make an embarrassing photo. If you look at [the club’s co-owner and co-founder] Ian Schrager’s book Studio 54, which I’m in as well, a lot of the photos are very embarrassing. Very. But that was not my thing. 

Bianca Jagger at Studio 54. Photo courtesy of Rose Hartman.

Adrian: About that Bianca Jagger photo. Did you know there was going to be a horse in the club that night? 

Rose: No, no. No one knew it. I thought I would just absolutely faint, I was so shocked and surprised! I was dancing and I looked up and there was this horse. The horse was not with Bianca, it was with a woman they called Lady Godiva, with long golden hair. She got off the horse and Bianca, who was celebrating her birthday, got on the horse, but for only a minute. There were two or three other photographers who did shoot her on the horse, but I think mine was the most flattering. It was the ‘shot seen round the world.’ That was the quote in the New York Times. And if you saw that in the newspaper you’d think “Oh my god, I have to go to that club.” It was the most famous club in the world, not just in New York, but the world. 

Vogue Editor-in-Chief Diana Vreeland [left] with fashion model Jerry Hall. Photo courtesy of Rose Hartman.

Adrian: How do you feel about your photos being a part of promoting the club that became the most famous in the world?

Rose: I was thrilled that I was able to take these pictures, for example Lou Reed talking with Andy Warhol, or Jerry Hall sitting with Diana Vreeland, who was Editor-in-Chief at Vogue. Images like that just thrill me! I was delighted that I was able to take them. People come up to me all the time, and some don’t know I took the photo, obviously they weren’t even born back then, and they would say “You took that photo? That is a fabulous photo.” It was true, it is true. It never gets old. 

Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. Photo courtesy of Rose Hartman.

Adrian: How did you feel when the club was shut down? 

Rose: No one saw it coming, because they didn’t exactly advertise that they were going into the ceiling above their offices to hide the money. They never paid taxes. They didn’t have enough, they wanted more. Until the police came and banged on the ceiling and the money came out... It was definitely disappointing, because I loved the place.