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Robert Mapplethorpe was a photographer, known for his black and white photographs of nudes, floral still-lifes and self-portraits. He was born in the Floral Park neighborhood of Queens in 1946. In 1963, Mapplethorpe began his studies at the Pratt Institute, where he pursued painting, drawing and sculpture. His earlier influences, Joseph Cornell and Marcel Duchamp, directed him towards mixed media collage, using found images and advertisements. Never intending to be a photographer, his first works were made in this medium.

In 1966, Mapplethorpe met Patti Smith, and three years later they moved into the Chelsea Hotel together. She supported him by working in bookstores and they created art together. Patti was a recurring figure in Mapplethorpe’s portraits. They were together until 1972, but maintained a close friendship throughout his life.

Mapplethorpe purchased a Polaroid camera, in 1972, and began to make his first photographs. To him, the photographs felt more honest than the collage work he was making at the time. The Light Gallery, in New York City, held Mapplethorpe’s first solo gallery exhibition, entitled Polaroids. Around this time, Mapplethorpe met curator, Sam Wagstaff. He would become the artist’s benefactor, lover, and lifetime companion. Sam gifted Mapplethorpe a Hasselblad 500 camera and he began taking photographs regularly, starting with his close friends.

From 1977 through 1980, Mapplethorpe was in a relationship with Jack Fritscher, a writer and the editor of Drummer, a leather subculture magazine. It was through his relationship with Jack that Mapplethorpe was introduced to Mineshaft, a members-only BDSM gay leather bar and sex club. Mapplethorpe photographed at the club often, and his work began to focus on the S&M underground scene. While some found his photographs of the New York S&M scene to be shocking, his technical prowess could not be denied.

He also worked on commercial projects, such as creating album art for Patti Smith and the band Television, and portraits and pictures of parties for Interview Magazine. Mapplethorpe’s artistic career thrived as he continued to create work in multiple avenues. He showed work at Documenta 6 in Kassel, Germany and was later represented by the Robert Miller Gallery in New York City, his exclusive dealer.

Mapplethorpe was photographing many different subjects by this time including flowers and celebrities. He continued to shoot album covers for Patti Smith, as well as a portrait of her in 1975 that was reminiscent of Albrecht Durer’s self-portrait from 1500. Between 1980 to 1983, Mapplethorpe made over 150 photographs of bodybuilder Lisa Lyon, creating the photobook Lady, Lisa Lyon.

Throughout the 80’s, Mapplethorpe’s photographs continued to challenge the social ideals and aesthetics of the time. In 1986, he designed the sets for Lucinda Childs’ Portraits in Reflection dance performance. He created a photogravure series for Arthur Rimbaud’s book, A Season in Hell. Mapplethorpe was also commissioned to take the portraits for the book, 50 New York Artists.

In the same busy year, Mapplethorpe was diagnosed with AIDS. He fought his illness and continued to make work and accept difficult commissions.

The Whitney Museum of American Art opened Mapplethorpe’s first major retrospective in 1988, one year before his death. Mapplethorpe established the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation in 1988, to leave his legacy in a foundation that works to promote photography, support museums that exhibit photographic art and to fund medical research for HIV and AIDS.