tified his models into simple flesh. He preferred to
emphasize the humanity of sexuality, which is
underlined by the fact that he always titled his
figure studies with the names of his models (unless
they specified a preference to remain anonymous).
This naming emphasizes the personhood of his
subjects as well as their complicity in his works.
His photography is also notable for its problem-
atization of dualisms of gender and sexuality. In
some 1980 self-portraits, he plays with androgy-
nous imagery by fashioning himself as a woman
in make-up and fur, not unlike Marcel Duchamp’s
alter-ego, Rrose Selavy. His 1983 book of photo-
graphs of body-building champion Lisa Lyon fea-
tures her in a number of poses that humorously
undermine stereotypes of femininity.
Mapplethorpe did not hesitate to utilize his art
for commercial projects, and often did fashion
shoots and celebrity portraits for various maga-
zines, includingInterview,Vanity Fair, and Har-
per’s. His early involvement in the New York
music scene also led him to create photographs
for a number of album covers for Patti Smith,
Television, Laurie Anderson, and others.
Mapplethorpe died in 1989, three years after he
was diagnosed with AIDS. The Robert Map-
plethorpe Foundation, launched by the artist the
year before his death, continues to promote photo-
graphy and fund AIDS research.
ShannonWearingSeealso:History of Photography: the 1980s; Por-
traiture; Representation and Gender
Biography
Born in Floral Park, New York, 4 November 1946. Studied
advertising design and graphic arts at Pratt Institute,
Brooklyn, New York, 1963–1970, M.F.A., 1970. Re-
ceived grant from New York State Creative Artists Pub-
lic Service Program (CAPS), 1979; National Endowment
for the Arts (NEA) grant, 1984; established Robert
Mapplethorpe Foundation, 1988. Died in Boston, Mas-
sachusetts, 9 March 1989.
Individual Exhibitions
1973 Polaroids; Light Gallery; New York, New York
1977 Flowers; Holly Solomon Gallery; New York, New
York
Erotic Pictures; The Kitchen; New York, New York
1978 Robert Mapplethorpe; Chrysler Museum; Norfolk,
Virginia
Film and Stills; Robert Miller Gallery; New York,
New York
1981 Robert Mapplethorpe; Kunstverein, Frankfurt, Ger-
many and traveling
1983 Lady, Lisa Lyon; Leo Castelli Gallery; New York,
New York and traveling
Robert Mapplethorpe Flowers; Galerie Watari; Tokyo,
Japan
Robert Mapplethorpe, 1970–1983; Institute of Con-
temporary Arts; London, England and traveling
Robert Mapplethorpe Fotografie; Centro di Documen-
tazione di Palazzo Fortuny; Venice, Italy and traveling
1985 Robert Mapplethorpe: Process; Barbara Gladstone
Gallery; New York, New York
1986 Robert Mapplethorpe: Photographs 1976–1985; Aus-
tralian Center for Contemporary Art; South Yarra, Vic-
toria, Australia
1988 Robert Mapplethorpe; Stedelijk Museum; Amsterdam,
Netherlands and traveling
Mapplethorpe Portraits; National Portrait Gallery;
London, England
Robert Mapplethorpe; Whitney Museum of American
Art; New York, New York
Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Moment; Institute
of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Phi-
ladelphia, and traveling
1991 Robert Mapplethorpe; Muse ́e d’Art Contemporain,
Fondation Edelman; Pully/Lausanne, Switzerland
1992 Mapplethorpe versus Rodin; Kunsthalle Du ̈sseldorf,
Germany
Robert Mapplethorpe; Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art
Museum, Japan, and traveling
Mapplethorpe; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art;
Humlebaek, Denmark, and traveling
1993 Robert Mapplethorpe Self-Portraits; Solomon R. Gug-
genheim Museum; New York, New YorkGroup Exhibitions
1973 Polaroids: Robert Mapplethorpe, Brigid Polk, Andy
Warhol; Gotham Book Mart; New York, New York
1974 Recent Religious and Ritual Art; Buecker and Harpsi-
chords; New York, New York
1977 Documenta 6; Kassel, Germany
1978 The Collection of Sam Wagstaff; Corcoran Gallery of
Art; Washington, D.C.
Mirrors and Windows: American Photography Since
1960 ; Museum of Modern Art; New York, New York
and traveling
1981 Autoportraits photographiques; Centre National d’Art
et de Culture Georges Pompidou; Paris, France
Inside Out–Self Beyond Likeness; Newport Harbor
Art Museum, Newport Beach, California and traveling
1981 Biennial Exhibition, Whitney Museum of American
Art; New York, New York
1982 Counterparts: Form and Emotion in Photographs;
Metropolitan Museum of Art; New York, New York
Documenta 7; Kassel, Germany
1984 The Heroic Figure; Contemporary Arts Museum;
Houston, Texas and traveling
1986 The Nude in Modern Photography; San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California
1988 First Person Singular: Self-portrait Photography, 1840-
1987 ; High Museum at Georgia-Pacific Center; Atlanta,
Georgia
1989 Photography Now; Victoria and Albert Museum; Lon-
don, England
On the Art of Fixing a Shadow: One Hundred and Fifty
Years Years of Photography; National Gallery of Art;MAPPLETHORPE, ROBERT