1946-1989

Robert Mapplethorpe approached his photographic subjects as classical studies that were superbly crafted and infused with eroticism.  After studying graphic arts at Pratt Institute, he acquired a Hasselblad medium-format camera in the mid-’70s and began photographing friends and acquaintances, including artists, composers and socialites.  During the ’80s Mapplethorpe created his flower still lifes, which were intricate and symbolically powerful. He was also known for homoerotic images and transgressive photographs, which stirred considerable controversies regarding public funding and in the institutions where they were shown.