Robert Mapplethorpe was born on November 4, 1946, in Floral Park, New York. He left home in 1962 and enrolled at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, in 1963, where he studied painting and sculpture and received his BFA in 1970. During this time, he met artist, poet, and musician Patti Smith. She encouraged his work and posed for numerous portraits when they lived together in Brooklyn and in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan, a gathering place for artists, writers, and musicians in the early 1970s.
It was not Mapplethorpe’s original intention to be a photographer, and from 1970 to 1974, he mainly made assemblage constructions that incorporate images of men from pornographic magazines with found objects and painting. In order to create his own images for these collages, Mapplethorpe turned to photography, initially using a Polaroid SX-70 camera. Interested in portraiture, Mapplethorpe worked as a staff photographer for Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine. He also produced album covers for Smith and the group Television, and at the same time photographed socialites and celebrities such as John Paul Getty III and Carolina Herrera.
Mapplethorpe had his first substantial shows in 1977, both in New York: an exhibition of photographs of flowers at the Holly Solomon Gallery and one of male nudes and sadomasochistic imagery at the Kitchen. Mapplethorpe’s diverse work — homoerotic images, floral still lifes, pictures of children, commissioned portraits, mixed-media sculpture — is united by the constancy of his approach and technique. The surfaces of his prints offer a seemingly endless gradation of blacks and whites, shadow and light, and regardless of subject, his images are both elegant and provocative. In the mid-to-late 1980s, returning to the sculptural use of photography seen in his early assemblages, Mapplethorpe created sensual diptychs and triptychs of photographs printed on fabric and luxurious cloth panels.
In 1988, four major exhibitions of Mapplethorpe’s work were organized: by the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; and the National Portrait Gallery, London. Mapplethorpe died due to complications from AIDS on March 9, 1989, in Boston.
Find original Robert Mapplethorpe photography on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by Cerbera Gallery)
Robert Mapplethorpe Calla Lilly collector's plate
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in New York, NY
Robert Mapplethorpe (American, 1946-1989) Calla Lilly, plate produced by Swid Powell in 1989, original image captured 1984 Porcelain with overglaze transfer-printed decoration 12 in....
Porcelain
$2,475
H 18 in W 18 in D 2.5 in
Grove / Contemporary Porcelain Micro Tile Wall Sculpture Installation
By Element Clay Studio
Located in Savannah, GA
“Grove” is a contemporary porcelain wall sculpture installation by Heather Knight, founder of Element Clay Studio (est. 2007), a Savannah-based studio recognized for organic modern c...
Ceramic, Porcelain
Aubrieta Contemporary Porcelain Wall Sculpture
Located in Savannah, GA
“Aubrieta” is a contemporary porcelain wall sculpture by Heather Knight, founder of Element Clay Studio (est. 2007), a Savannah-based studio recognized for organic modern ceramic wor...
Ceramic, Porcelain
$1,375
H 30 in W 5 in D 2 in
Obsidian, Black Porcelain Micro Tile Quintet Wall Installation
By Element Clay Studio
Located in Savannah, GA
Obsidian is a sculptural wall installation composed of five hand-sculpted porcelain micro tiles exploring repetition, texture, and organic structure. Each tile is individually forme...
Ceramic, Porcelain
Contemporary Black Porcelain Dahlia Wall Sculpture
Located in Savannah, GA
This contemporary porcelain wall sculpture by Heather Knight, founder of Element Clay Studio (est. 2007), is a large-scale work exploring botanical form through repetition, symmetry,...
Ceramic, Porcelain
$6,500
H 19 in W 31 in D 4 in
Wall 24-1- White porcelain abstract geometric organic style mural sculpture
Located in New York, NY
Artists Statement: My interest is in exploring ways of building structural forms in ceramics. Many ideas for the forms come from architecture while the inherent organic quality of th...
Porcelain
$1,555Sale Price|40% Off
H 20 in W 18 in D 13 in
Not the Priceless Historical Ceramic Jar! (Funny, Witty, Installation, ~40% OFF)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Allyson George Not the Priceless Historical Ceramic Jar! (Funny, Witty, Installation) Porcelain, glaze, stoneware, enamel spray paint, epoxy Year: 2025 Size Large Sitting Cup: 20 x 1...
Enamel
$6,251Sale Price|38% Off
H 20.08 in W 20.08 in D 1.19 in
Marilyn (Silver) -Contemporary Editions, Andy Warhol, Framed, Pop Art
By (after) Andy Warhol
Located in Zug, CH
ANDY WARHOL (after) Marilyn Silver, 2010 Porcelain Edition of 49 51 x 51 cm (20.1 x 20.1 in.) Facsimile signature in glaze, numbered on the reverse on label In wooden box, accompanie...
Enamel
$5,001Sale Price|20% Off
H 20.08 in W 20.08 in D 1.19 in
Blue Elvis -Contemporary Art, Editions, Andy Warhol, Framed, Enamel, Pop Art
By (after) Andy Warhol
Located in Zug, CH
ANDY WARHOL (after) Blue Elvis Edition of 49 From Rosenthal Studio Line 51 x 51 cm (20.1 x 20.1 in.) Signed in glaze (fac-simile signature), numbered on the reverse on label In woode...
Porcelain, Digital
$700
H 2.5 in W 8.25 in D 8.25 in
"Take Out", Takeout Container Sculpture Cast in Porcelain with a Celadon Glaze
By Yoonmi Nam
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Take Out "is an original free-standing sculpture by Yoonmi Nam as part of the artist's ongoing "Cairn" series. To create the work, the artist the slip casts the ceramic by pouring ...
Porcelain
$2,490
H 7.88 in W 9.85 in D 9.85 in
Life is too Short Relax II- original realism wildlife sculpture-contemporary Art
By Henk Jan Sanderman
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Bronze
$2,615
H 11.82 in W 31.5 in D 1.19 in
Leap of Faith-original realism wildlife sculpture-painting-artwork-contemporary
By Henk Jan Sanderman
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork.This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Co...
Bronze
$6,877Sale Price|27% Off
H 20.08 in W 20.08 in D 1.19 in
Purple-Red Marilyn by Andy Warhol, Pop Art, Signed by the artist's estate
By (after) Andy Warhol
Located in Zug, CH
Of all Andy Warhol's celebrity subjects, none seem more emblematic of how the artist perceived and synthesised America than Marilyn Monroe. The artist saw in her all the promises, th...
Enamel
Sold
H 12 in W 12 in
Patti Smith Horses Vinyl Record 1st Pressing (photo by Robert Mapplethorpe)
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Patti Smith Horses Vinyl Record Album, Original 1975 US 1st Pressing featuring original photography by Robert Mapplethorpe. Includes original record in near mint condition. Produc...
Offset
Sold
H 12 in W 12 in D 0.1 in
Patti Smith Horses Vinyl Record 1st Pressing (photo by Robert Mapplethorpe)
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Patti Smith Horses Vinyl Record Album, Original 1975 US 1st Pressing featuring original photography by Robert Mapplethorpe. Includes original record in near mint condition. Produc...
Offset
Sold
H 12 in W 12 in
Patti Smith Horses Vinyl Record 1st Pressing (photo by Robert Mapplethorpe)
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Patti Smith Horses Vinyl Record Album, Original 1975 US 1st Pressing featuring original photography by Robert Mapplethorpe. Includes original record in near mint condition. Produc...
Offset
Sold
H 12 in W 12 in
Patti Smith Horses Vinyl Record 1st Pressing (Robert Mapplethorpe)
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Patti Smith Horses Vinyl Record Album, 1975 US 1st Pressing featuring original photography by Robert Mapplethorpe Produced by John Cale Cover: Very condit...
Offset
Sold
H 9 in W 6 in
Signed Patti Smith Seventh Heaven 1st Edition (early Patti Smith)
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Patti Smith, 7th Heaven A book of poems hand signed on the interior first page. This book has not been reissued, and print copies are very rare. Signed 1st edition Minor wear to exterior; otherwise well-intact and in good overall condition for its age Further Background A living breathing legend, Smith doesn’t appear in many academic anthologies, and that’s just fine. What she offers are bridges from the Beats to the sixties New York art scene to seventies punk poetry and beyond, with spandrels made from French surrealist leanings and rock and roll obsessions. A 1977 Oxford Literary Review article aptly describes Smith in her heyday: In the late sixties and early seventies Patti Smith was a member of Warhol’s androgynous beauties living under the fluorescent lights of New York...
Sold
H 12 in W 12 in
Patti Smith Horses Vinyl 1st Pressing (Robert Mapplethorpe)
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Patti Smith Horses Vinyl Record Album, 1975 US 1st Pressing featuring original photography by Robert Mapplethorpe Produced by John Cale Cover: Excellent c...
Offset
Patti Smith, Horses, Vinyl 1st Pressing
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Patti Smith Horses Vinyl Record Album, 1975 US 1st Pressing Photography by Robert Mapplethorpe Produced by John Cale Cover: Some minor shelf-wear otherwis...
Offset
Original Patti Smith, Horses Vinyl 1st Pressing
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Patti Smith Horses Vinyl Record Album, 1975 US 1st Pressing Photography by Robert Mapplethorpe Produced by John Cale Cover: Minor corner wear to one area;...
Offset
Original Patti Smith, Horses Vinyl 1st Pressing
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Patti Smith Horses Vinyl Record Album, 1975 1st Pressing Very Good to Excellent Condition (Minor Wear consistent with age & medium) Photography by Robert Mapplethorpe Producer: John Cale...
Offset