Robert Mapplethorpe

Moet Blade

1972

Andy Warhol began using the big-shot Polaroid camera in 1971 and continued using it religiously until his death in 1987. Despite the camera being discontinued in 1973, he continued t...

Andy Warhol began using the big-shot Polaroid camera in 1971 and continued using it religiously until his death in 1987. Despite the camera being discontinued in 1973, he continued t...

Robert Mapplethorpe earned his place in the canon from his incredible output of images that ranged from beautiful to brutal. Mapplethorpe was one of the key artists who helped elevate photography from image-making to fine art. Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) fearlessly depicted the body (his own, friends' and lovers') in a way that positioned his work in line with masters such as Reubens, Courbet and Eadweard Muybridge to mention a few. Despite the sometimes shocking content of his work, Mapplethorpe's photographs possess a formalist quality with their undeniable beauty and strict compositions. From 1978-1981, Mapplethorpe created thirty-nine black and white photographs that make up his acclaimed XYZ Portfolios. While each portfolio is a distinct exploration of Mapplethorpe's signature subject matter, when combined, XYZ Portfolios serves as a definitive and in-depth representation of his mature and most sought-after, period. (Of the portfolios, X explores homosexuality and sadomasochism; Y features floral still life; while Z showcases portraits of Black men) Click here to see a portrait from the Z portfolio. In 2012, the XYZ Portfolios were shown in an exhibition at LACMA and presented in three rows (X on top, followed by Y in the middle, and Z below) as Mapplethorpe had envisioned them in 1989. "Gardenia" is one of thirteen images from the Y Portfolio, featuring a fragrant and graphic flower. Shot overhead, this tranquil image captures a delicate flower subtly floating in a dark, contrasting bowl. Aside from the flower's shadow below, the still water is nearly inconspicuous, contributing to the air of grace and elegance that this piece evokes. While the depiction is straightforward, Mapplethorpe's contrasts lead to a more ambiguous image; is this actually a flower or some alien specimen being examined? This powerful black and white image is a prime example of Mapplethorpe's work, highlighting his studio-centric practice as well as his refined and meticulous printing. This is a rare opportunity to acquire an iconic work by one of the most influential photographers of the 20th Century. Caviar20 is proud to be offering this monumental and important piece. "Gardenia" USA, 1978 Gelatin silver print Signed in ink by Michael Ward Stout and credited and dated on photographer's estate stamp, mount verso. 13.25"H 12.75"W (image) 16.75"H 16"W (framed) Very good condition Provenance: Xavier Hufkens...

Innovative, provocative, inimitable - these are just a few of the words to describe America's boldest photographer. Arthur Fellig, better known as Weegee (1899-1968) was a ground-breaking, successful (and notorious) photojournalist. His images shot on the streets of New York City are iconic and influential. In the 1930s he became the first New York City press photographer to obtain permission to install a police radio in his car. This allowed him to follow the city's first responders and to document their duties; responding to fire, crime, debauchery and of course, murder. By the early 1940s Weegee was experiencing fatigue with crime reportage. Ironically, this was also the point when he finally began experiencing professional validation and acclaim, to the point of being a minor celebrity. Notably in 1941 he was included in The MoMA's seminal "50 Photographs by 50 Photographers" (curated by Edward Steichen). The museum would also acquire five Weegee photographs...

While many first associate Weegee (aka Arthur Fellig) with New York City crime scenes, perhaps a broader and more consistent theme is that of spectacle and/or urban entertainment. The origins of his nick-name and reputation date back to the 1930s when he became the first New York City press photographer to obtain permission to install a police radio in his car. Following the city's first responders and documenting their duties, Weegee had unprecedented access to New York’s fires, crimes, debaucheries and of course, murders. During the first decade of his career these unflinching urban tragedy or crime images paid Weegee's bills, but as he became more financially independent he was more inspired to pursue photographs on his own agenda. While his oeuvre is vast, Weegee was especially drawn to entertainment: nightlife, circuses, the theatre, showgirls, city thrills, the cinema etc. Some of Weegee's most dynamic and tender (and under-appreciated!) images are related to simply having fun (in a crowd). He was not confined to one neighbourhood or demographic. He captured action, faces and events from Coney Island to the Bowery and Greenwich Village, to Times Square and Harlem. In “A Trip To Mars,” Weegee depicts a multi-generational group crowding around a large telescope...

Weegee (1899-1968) was equally fascinated and inspired by cinema and all of its tangents, from Hollywood movie stars to ordinary civilians going to the movies. While Weegee is typically associated with crime/disaster images, the broad theme of "entertainment" is a major component of his oeuvre. An interesting and provocative sub-genre of his cinema-related work are his images of couples (often heavy-petting) in movie theatres. Recent scholarship has established that many of Weegee's supposed clandestine images were actually staged or arranged with friends or co-operative strangers. Nevertheless, Weegee created these photographs in the dark with an array of clever techniques including infrared film, filtered flashbulb and triangular prism lens. Employed in shots such as this one, the prism lens would allow the artist to “see around corners,” useful at times when his subjects were in compromising locations. These images of kissing couples, Weegee wrote in 1959, were “his best seller, year in and year out.” "Sailor and GIrl at the Movies...

Rare Vintage Silver Gelatin and Polaroid Photograph Prints in Polaroid Photo Album. These measure 10 x 8 4.25 x 3.25. it is a folder titled on it Custom Print by Polaroid the album i...

DAN BUDNIK (American, b. 1933-2020 David Smith with Voltr1-Bolton XV, Terminal Iron Works, Bolton Landing, N. Y. 1963 Vintage Print on Afga Paper, Silver gelatin, March 1963, printed 1992 by Igor Bakht Paper: 24 x 20 inches Image: 16.38 x 13 inches Recto: signed in black ink in artist's hand Verso: titled, dated, signed in graphite in artist's hand, printer information in graphite State: unmounted. Dan Budnik 1933-2020 As a photojournalist, Dan Budnik is known for his photographs of artists, but also for his photo-documentation of the Civil Rights Movement and of Native Americans. Born in 1933 in Long Island, New York, Budnik studied with Charles Alston at the Art Students League of New York (1951-53) and began his photography career as Philippe Halsman’s assistant. Working at Magnum Photos (1957-64) in 1963, Budnik persuaded Life Magazine to have him create a long-term photo essay showing the seriousness of the Civil Rights Movement, documenting the Selma to Montgomery march and other historical Civil Rights moments. Budnik went on to photograph for premier publications such as Life, Fortune, Look, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated and Vogue. He has been a major contributor to eight Time-Life Wilderness and Great Cities series and received a 1973 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for his work on the Hudson River Ecology Project and a 1980 grant from the Polaroid Foundation for Big Mountain: Hopi-Navajo Forced Relocation. Biography Pastaza, Ecuador, December 2004 Photo by Kresta King Cuther Pastaza, Ecuador, December 2004 Photo by Kresta King Cuther Dan Budnik, (b. 1933-died 2020), whose career as a photographer has spanned more than half a century, was most recent recipient, in 1998, of the prestigious American Society of Media Photographers Honor Roll Award, an accolade previously accorded to such eminent photographers as Man Ray, Edward Steichen, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, André Kertész, Ernst Hass...

NYC 1939 World's Fair 5 - 8 x 10 photographs Mid 20th Century WPA Architectural Underwood and Underwood 1939 World’s Fair Photographs 8 x 10 inches each All five prints are stamped...

"Hollywood Sign" is a photomosaic artwork by Destro. This image is made up of 100's of smaller images of Hollywood related imagery. Exhibition Poster from series "The ICONS" Destr...

"Dr Dre The Chronic Cassette" is a photomosaic artwork by Destro. This image is made up of 100's of smaller images of Dr Dre imagery. Archival photographic paper Signed edition of...

"Brando" is a photomosaic artwork by Destro. This image is made up of 100's of smaller images of Marlon Brando. Archival photographic paper Framing options available