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Robert Mapplethorpe Furniture

American, 1946-1989

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)

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Creator: Robert Mapplethorpe
Swid Powell - Robert Mapplethorpe Porcelain Plates, Orchid - Flower - Calla Lily
By Swid Powell, Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in GRONINGEN, NL
Black and white porcelain collectors plates by Swid Powell and Robert Mapplethorpe. The set contains the plates ''Orchid'' - 1987 , "Flower" 1986 and ''Calla Lily'' - 1984. All have ...
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1980s Japanese Modern Vintage Robert Mapplethorpe Furniture

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Porcelain

Robert Mapplethorpe Baby's Breath 1/10
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Late 20th Century American Robert Mapplethorpe Furniture

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Swid Powell Robert Mapplethorpe "Flower" 1986 Floral Black & White Plate
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Toledo, OH
Black and white porcelain collectors plate Swid Powell Robert Mapplethorpe "Flower" 1986. White circular plate with sloping sides. Photographic image of a calla lily. 12" in diameter.
Category

20th Century Unknown Modern Robert Mapplethorpe Furniture

Materials

Porcelain

Robert Mapplethorpe Botanical Porcelain Plate, Calla Lily, 1984
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Downingtown, PA
Robert Mapplethorpe Botanical Plate, Calla Lily, 1984 Made By Swid Powell The Robert Mapplethorpe porcelain plate depicts in black and white a Calla Lily made in 1984. It is lithog...
Category

1980s American Modern Vintage Robert Mapplethorpe Furniture

Materials

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Robert Mapplethorpe Botanical Porcelain Plate, Flower, 1986
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Downingtown, PA
Robert Mapplethorpe Botanical Plate, Flower, 1986 Made By Swid Powell The Robert Mapplethorpe porcelain plate depicts in black and white a flower dated on the reverse 1987. It is l...
Category

1980s American Modern Vintage Robert Mapplethorpe Furniture

Materials

Porcelain

Robert Mapplethorpe Botanical Porcelain Plate, Orchid, 1987
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Downingtown, PA
Robert Mapplethorpe Botanical Plate, Orchid, 1987 Made for Swid Powell, The Robert Mapplethorpe plate depicts an Orchid made in 1987. It is ...
Category

1980s American Modern Vintage Robert Mapplethorpe Furniture

Materials

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Pistils - Robert Mapplethorpe, Photography Hardcover Cased Book 1st Edition 1996
By Robert Mapplethorpe
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Pistils, Photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe with an Essay by John Ashbery. Hardcover in case and dust jacket – 1st Edition, 1996 Robert Mapplethorpe began taking photographs i...
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Robert Mapplethorpe "Lisa Lyon" Photograph
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Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Between 1980 and 1982 Robert Mapplethorpe photographed Lisa Lyon culminating in "Lady Lisa Lyon" published in 1983. This image is separate from the 114 im...
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1980s American Vintage Robert Mapplethorpe Furniture

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Robert Mapplethorpe furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Robert Mapplethorpe furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of porcelain and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Robert Mapplethorpe furniture, although pink editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by Robert Mapplethorpe were created in the modern style in united states during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Larry Rivers, Richard Faralla, and Lowell Nesbitt. Prices for Robert Mapplethorpe furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $125 and can go as high as $17,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $1,500.
Questions About Robert Mapplethorpe Furniture
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Robert Mapplethorpe was known for his dramatic black and white photography. The American photographer's nude portraits, self-portraits and scenes from New York City's S&M clubs are particularly famous. On 1stDibs, you can find a variety of Robert Mapplethorpe photographic art.

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