The father of my best friend in high school was an accountant who did the books for a bunch of artists, including Alice Neel. He bartered his services: income tax returns in exchange for art. And in the case of Alice, with whom they became close, she made portraits of various family members. Going to my friend’s house was always a trip: in addition to the Neels, there were Pearlsteins, Mangolds, Golubs, and Whittens, among so many others. At the time, I had no idea who these artists were and thought it was some pretty crazy shit— but I was into it, that much I knew. I never would have guessed that some 35 years later @tmagazine would send me to shoot Alice Neel’s apartment and I’d see a portrait of my friend’s dad leaning against the wall.