Willem de Kooning and Kline were very close friends from the early 1940’s, swapping girlfriends and co-founding The Club; de Kooning prompted his stylistic breakthrough by suggesting he use a projector to enlarge small sketches to heroic scale. Close friends among writers included Kerouac and Creeley, and O’Hara, who organised a significant exhibition of Kline’s work. Teaching at Black Mountain, Wolpe and Kline formed a lasting relationship, while Twombly was among his students. Siskind and Feldman both dedicated work to him. He once ordered 12 scotch and sodas — 6 for him, 6 for Elaine de Kooning.