Robert Mapplethorpe

In his quest for fame and notoriety, Robert Mapplethorpe recognized the importance of maintaining a dynamic public persona, and he shrewdly moved with ease between the high-society world of his New York patrons and the city’s underground BDSM scene. Mapplethorpe continually returned to the self-portrait throughout his career both as a means of expression and self-presentation. Pristinely lit and classically composed, as was his trademark, here he sports a pompadour haircut and high-collared leather jacket that alternately calls to mind Marlon Brando’s character in The Wild One (1954) and the leather subculture in which Mapplethorpe was an active participant.

–Matthew Kluk (Brown PhD 2025, History of Art and Architecture), RISD proctor 2021–2022

Robert Mapplethorpe’s classically composed, pristinely lit, and impeccably printed photographs of nudes, portraits, and still lifes have been both greatly admired

and controversial. With his direct gaze, coiffed hair, and leather jacket, Mapplethorpe here aptly portrayed himself as a rebel. Best known for bringing gay male sexuality into mainstream art, his work set off the “culture wars” over censorship, freedom of expression, and the role of government arts funding when, in 1989, just months after his death, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, canceled a traveling exhibition of his work, fearing criticism because tax dollars were used to fund it.