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)
Rare (Historic) Atlantic House, Provincetown - Entre Nous - Chains -offset print
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in New York, NY
Robert Mapplethorpe Rare (Historic) Atlantic House, Provincetown - Entre Nous - Chains poster, 1991 Offset lithograph poster 17 × 11 inches Unframed, unsigned and unnumbered Accompan...
Lithograph, Offset
Silver Dollar
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Greenwich, CT
Silver Dollar is a silver gelatin print on paper by Robert Mapplethorpe, titled, numbered, and dated verso. The print is signed and dated again on the back within his signature stamp...
Paper, Silver Gelatin
$1,800
H 40 in W 30 in D 0.03 in
Flora Italiana (Papavero Giallo Fiorito) - large botanical still life photograph
By Linda Rosewall
Located in San Francisco, CA
Original large format still life photograph from Linda Rosewall's series "Flora Italiana", an intensively beautiful body of works exploring the botanica...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Giclée
MICKEY FROM HEAD TO TOE
By Romero Britto
Located in Aventura, FL
Original, limited edition offset lithograph in colors on paper. Published by Walt Disney Art Classics. Artwork is in excellent condition. All reasonabl...
Paper, Lithograph, Offset
$1,300
H 39 in W 24.5 in D 0.3 in
Original Andy Warhol Double Self Portrait - Louisiana (Denmark) vintage poster
By Andy Warhol
Located in Spokane, WA
Andy Warhol (after), Double Self-Portrait — Louisiana Museum, 1978 Original Danish exhibition poster; linen-backed; Very Fine (Grade A) Striking vintage exhibition poster created b...
Offset
$2,450
H 28 in W 21 in D 0.3 in
Original Michael Jackson, Time Magazine, Andy Warhol authentic poster linen
By Andy Warhol
Located in Spokane, WA
Original Andy Warhol vintage poster with Michael Jackson for Time Magazine March 1984. This vintage poster created by Andy Warhol was the image used for the cover of Time Magazine ...
Offset
$450
H 41 in W 27 in D 0.3 in
Original Scars of Dracula - Horror of Frankenstein dual bill vintage movie poste
Located in Spokane, WA
Original 1971 “Scars of Dracula” / “Horror of Frankenstein” vintage U.S. one-sheet movie poster — 27 x 41 in. An original U.S. theatrical one-sheet poster for Hammer Films’ 1971 dou...
Offset
$4,400
H 60 in Dm 48 in
Seascape-XIX-Capri - large scale abstract monochromatic ocean water surface
By Frank Schott
Located in San Francisco, CA
Frank Schott Seascape XIX Capri A Large format abstract photograph of mesmerizing water surface and ephemeral abstract ripple patterns from a ser...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Giclée, Archival Pigment
$18,500
H 7 in W 7 in
Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe Print, Invitation to the Leo Castelli Gallery, 1981
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
An invitation to "Andy Warhol: A Print Retrospective 1963-1981" held at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City, printed with the iconic image of Marilyn Monroe. Published by Caste...
Lithograph, Offset
$1,548
H 19.49 in W 19.69 in
C.O. Paeffgen, Charles de Gaulle - Signed Print, 1992, Pop Art, Portrait
Located in Hamburg, DE
C.O. Paeffgen (German, 1933-2019) Charles de Gaulle, 1992 Medium: Offset lithograph on card stock Dimensions: 49.5 x 50 cm Edition of 100: Monogrammed, numbered and dated Condition: ...
Offset
Persephone V ( 24" x 19" )
By Erik Pawassar
Located in San Francisco, CA
Persephone V by Erik Pawassar 24 x 19 inches (61 x 48cm) edition of 25 signed 40 x 31 inches (102 x 79cm) edition of 25 signed 62 x 48 inches (157 x 122cm) edition of 7 ...
Archival Ink, Photographic Paper, Pigment, Archival Pigment
$2,895
H 27 in Dm 36 in
FRENCH ZERO'S GIRLFRIEND Signed Lithograph Woman in Green Hat Turquoise Red Pink
By Peter Max
Located in Union City, NJ
FRENCH ZERO'S GIRLFRIEND is an original hand drawn limited edition lithograph by the pop culture icon, Peter Max, printed in an edition of 150, using traditional hand lithography techniques on archival Arches paper, 100% acid free. FRENCH ZERO'S GIRLFRIEND is an expressive female Pop Art...
Lithograph
Mirror Images
By (after) Roy Lichtenstein
Located in Kansas City, MO
Roy Lichtenstein Mirror Images Offset Lithograph 2000 33.07 x 23.22 inches (84 x 59 cm) Unsigned as issued Publisher: VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn - Germany COA provided The exhibition in Wo...
Lithograph, Offset
$825
H 36 in W 24 in D 0.05 in
Original Absolut Outrageous Cocktails Perfect pop art poster
By David LaChapelle
Located in Spokane, WA
Original ABSOLUT OUTrageeous, Cocktails perfected pop art liquor poster. The archived linen is backed in excellent condition and ready to frame. The p...
Offset
Robert Mapplethorpe-Calla Lilly-39" x 27"-Poster-Photography
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Limited edition reproduction of Robert Mapplethorpe's Calla Lilly. The poster was published by Little, Brown and Company in the early 90"s. It has been out-of-print for many years bu...
Offset
Silver Dollar - Black & White
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Robert Mapplethorpe Medium: Silver gelatin print Title: Silver Dollar - Black & White Year: 1988 Edition: 10/10 Framed Size: 33 x 29 1/4 inches S...
Silver Gelatin
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: Excellent Condition R...
Offset
Season in Hell
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Robert Mapplethorpe, American (1946 - 1989) Title: Season in Hell Year: 1986 Medium: Dustgrain Photogravure, signed, dated and numbered in pencil Edition: 35/40 Image Si...
Photogravure
Flowers
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in London, GB
toned photogravure; 1988, signed, dated and numbered from the edition 25, 91 x 63cm
Flowers
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in London, GB
toned photogravure; 1988, signed, dated and numbered from the edition 25, 91 x 63cm
Flowers
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in London, GB
toned photogravure; 1988, signed, dated and numbered from the edition 25, 91 x 63cm
Flowers
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in London, GB
toned photogravure; 1988, signed, dated and numbered from the edition 25, 91 x 63cm
From Flowers
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in London, GB
toned photogravure; 1988, signed, dated and numbered from the edition 25, 91 x 63cm
From Flowers
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in London, GB
toned photogravure; 1988, signed, dated and numbered from the edition 25, 91 x 63cm