Robert Mapplethorpe - Photographs - 1978

"Robert Mapplethorpe: Photographs" is a rare, highly collectible 1978 exhibition catalogue published by the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk. It was created to document Mapplethorpe's landmark solo museum exhibition, which ran from January 18 to March 12, 1978.

The publication serves as a critical historical record of Mapplethorpe’s early career, capturing his style just as he was emerging onto the international art scene.

Binding & Format: A large-format, softcover publication (approximately 11" x 8.5") featuring stapled wraps.

Text: Includes a prominent written introduction by Mario Amaya, who was the director of the Chrysler Museum at the time.

The book features a curated selection of early black-and-white gelatin silver prints that showcased Mapplethorpe's wide-ranging, starkly lit, and formalist approach to photography. It contains 13 black-and-white plates plus a cover image, highlighting three core themes of his early work: High-profile figures of the 1970s New York creative scene, including a famous young Arnold Schwarzenegger flexing in a speedo, artist Brice Marden, and a portrait of David Hockney alongside curator Henry Geldzahler on Fire Island; Multiple images—including a notable 1976 nude—of the musician, poet, and Mapplethorpe’s lifelong muse and collaborator Patti Smith; Early iterations of his famous, deeply structured flower studies (such as lilies and tulips) alongside early homoerotic portraiture, including images of underground icon Peter Berlin.

Copy in very good condition.