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)
Lisa Lyon
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Robert Mapplethorpe's (1946-1989) place in the canon was earned from his incredible output of images that ranged from beautiful to brutal. Mapplethorpe boldly showcased the beauty ...
Silver Gelatin
William S. Burroughs (Iconic, Stamped, Naked Lunch, Beat Generation, Cut-Up)
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Kansas City, MO
Robert Mapplethorpe William S. Burroughs Photograph insert from Radar No. 1 (1982) Year: 1982 Sheet Size: 9.8 × 7.8 inches (24.9 × 19.8 cm) Framed Size: 17 x 13 x 1.25 inches (43.2 ×...
Photographic Paper
Silver Dollar (Color), Signed Dye Transfer Print, Photorealist, 1988, AP Edition
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Aventura, FL
Dye-transfer print, flush-mounted. The photographer's copyright stamp, signed and dated in ink, and with title, date, and edition 'A. P. #D' in ink on the reverse. Frame size 30 x 33...
Dye Transfer
$3,846
H 16 in W 20 in D 0.1 in
Palm Beach Idyll, 1955 - Estate Stamped Limited Edition C-Type Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Palm Beach Idyll, 1955 by Slim Aarons 16 x 16" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. 'Palm Beach Idyll' is a Limited Edition Estate Stamped Di...
C Print, Photographic Paper, Color, Digital
Sarah's BBQ, Fourth of July
By Melissa Incampo
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition 1 of 21. If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is p...
Silver Gelatin
$3,846
H 16 in W 20 in D 0.1 in
Catch Up by the Pool, 1970 - Poolside Conversation, Kaufmann House Palm Springs
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Catch Up by the Pool, 1970 - Poolside Conversation, Kaufmann House Palm Springs by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. ...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
Holding the Herd
By Adam Jahiel
Located in Sante Fe, NM
For years, Jahiel has been photographing the cowboys of the Great Basin–perhaps one of the most inhospitable regions of the already rugged West. These people represent one of the l...
Silver Gelatin
$2,275
H 20 in W 16 in
Jimi Hendrix "Blue Smoke", London, February, 1967 by Gered Mankowitz
By Gered Mankowitz
Located in Austin, TX
Jimi Hendrix, London 1967 by Gered Mankowitz A portrait of Jimi looking serious while holding a cigarette in an embroidered jacket. "Shot during my first session with Jimi at my Stu...
C Print
$3,846
H 16 in W 20 in D 0.1 in
Palm Springs Party, 1970 - Limited Edition Estate Stamped C-Type Color Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Palm Springs Party, 1970 by Slim Aarons This Portrait by Swimming Pool at Kaufmann House is a sister image to the now SOLD OUT editions "Poolside Gossip" and "Poolside Glamour", hav...
Digital, Color, Photographic Paper, C Print
$250
H 7.49 in W 9.49 in
Lou Jacobs World Famous Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Clown
Located in Middletown, NY
Gelatin silver print mounted on board, 9 1/2 x 7 1/2 in. (241 x 190 mm) from the Roland Butler Collection, Press Agent, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (1930s-1960s) Ro...
Photographic Paper
$250
H 7.49 in W 9.49 in
Turn of the century parade Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Located in Middletown, NY
Gelatin silver print, 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. (190 x 241 mm) from the Roland Butler Collection, Press Agent, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (1930s-1960s) Roland Butler Collectio...
Photographic Paper
The Rolling Stones
By Art Kane
Located in Austin, TX
The Rolling Stones, taken in 1966 by Art Kane Originally photographed in London by Art Kane for McCall’s Magazine’s 1966 photo essay‘ Teen Idols’, Kane lay on his back and had the b...
C Print
Heavenly From God, 3rd Ward, Houston, Texas
By Earlie Hudnall Jr.
Located in Denton, TX
Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, and dated in pencil on print verso by Earlie Hudnall, Jr. Paper size: 20 x 16 in., Image size: 19 x 15 in. Earlie Hudnall, who is one of the mos...
Silver Gelatin
Look Away, 1990
By Todd Burris
Located in Hudson, NY
Listing is for UNFRAMED print. Inquire within for framing. Edition of 1 of 25 If the exhibition piece is sold or the customer orders a different print size, the photograph is prod...
Silver Gelatin
$3,090
H 16 in W 12 in D 0.1 in
Alison Cain - Estate Stamped C-Type Photographic Print from Limited Edition
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Alison Cain by Slim Aarons 16" x 12" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. Alison Cain is a Limited Edition Estate Stamped C-Type print by 20...
C Print, Color, Photographic Paper, Digital
Sold
H 9.8 in W 7.8 in
William S. Burroughs (~38% OFF LIST PRICE, LIMITED TIME)
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Kansas City, MO
Robert Mapplethorpe William S. Burroughs Photograph Year: 1982 Size: 9.8 × 7.8 inches Edition C.L.A.G Carl Laszlo, Basel Gallery COA provided Robert Mapplethorpe was born November 4, 1946, in Floral...
C Print
William S. Burroughs
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Kansas City, MO
Robert Mapplethorpe William S. Burroughs Photograph Year: 1982 Size: 9.8 × 7.8 inches Edition C.L.A.G Carl Laszlo, Basel Gallery COA provided Robert Mapplethorpe was born November...
C Print
William S. Burroughs
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Kansas City, MO
Robert Mapplethorpe William S. Burroughs Photograph Year: 1982 Size: 9.8 × 7.8 inches Edition C.L.A.G Carl Laszlo, Basel Gallery COA provided Robert Mapplethorpe was born November...
C Print
William S. Burroughs
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Kansas City, MO
Robert Mapplethorpe William S. Burroughs Photograph Year: 1982 Size: 9.8 × 7.8 inches Edition C.L.A.G Carl Laszlo, Basel Gallery COA provided Robert Mapplethorpe was born November...
C Print
William S. Burroughs
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Kansas City, MO
Robert Mapplethorpe William S. Burroughs Photograph Year: 1982 Size: 9.8 × 7.8 inches Edition C.L.A.G Carl Laszlo, Basel Gallery COA provided Robert Mapplethorpe was born November...
C Print
William S. Burroughs
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Kansas City, MO
Robert Mapplethorpe William S. Burroughs Photograph Year: 1982 Size: 9.8 × 7.8 inches Edition C.L.A.G Carl Laszlo, Basel COA provided Robert Mapplethorpe was born November 4, 1946...
C Print
William S. Burroughs
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Kansas City, MO
Robert Mapplethorpe William S. Burroughs Photograph Year: 1982 Size: 9.8 × 7.8 inches Edition C.L.A.G Carl Laszlo, Basel COA provided Robert Mapplethorpe was born November 4, 1946...
C Print
Sold
H 14 in W 11 in
Pete Farndon, bassist, founding member of band Pretenders by Robert Mapplethorpe
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in New york, NY
A unique print from 1980 by Robert Mapplethorpe of Pete Farndon, the bassist, and founding member of the band Pretenders. The editorial-sized photo is 10" x 10 1/16" (image size) on ...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film