Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
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.
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(Biography provided by Cerbera Gallery)
1980s Contemporary Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Silver Gelatin
1980s Photorealist Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Dye Transfer
Late 20th Century Photorealist Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Archival Pigment
Late 20th Century Photorealist Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Giclée
1950s Contemporary Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
1960s Contemporary Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
1960s Contemporary Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
1950s Contemporary Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
1980s Contemporary Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
1990s Contemporary Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
1980s Contemporary Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
1960s Contemporary Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
1980s Contemporary Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
1980s Contemporary Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
1980s American Modern Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
C Print
1980s American Modern Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
C Print
1980s American Modern Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
C Print
1980s American Modern Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
C Print
1980s American Modern Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
C Print
1980s American Modern Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
C Print
1980s Contemporary Robert Mapplethorpe Portrait Photography
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film
Robert Mapplethorpe portrait photography for sale on 1stDibs.
Artists Similar to Robert Mapplethorpe
- 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022Robert Mapplethorpe was known for his dramatic black and white photography. The American photographer's nude portraits, self-portraits and scenes from New York City's S&M clubs are particularly famous. On 1stDibs, you can find a variety of Robert Mapplethorpe photographic art.
- 1stDibs ExpertMay 3, 2024You can see Robert Mapplethorpe art in a number of museums. His work is in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco, California; the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia; the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, New York; the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California; the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London, UK; and many other institutions. In addition, museums frequently feature his work in special exhibitions. Check the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation website for a list of upcoming exhibits. On 1stDibs, shop a variety of Robert Mapplethorpe art.