Robert Mapplethorpe was an influential American artist who is best remembered as a photographer. His photographs were predominantly black and white and depicted sordid scenes of New York City night life and counter culture during the late 1960's and 1970's. Robert Mapplethorpe was controversial for his time due to his homosexuality and open decision of homo erotic images, sexual acts, and BDSM. The majority of his photographs were portraits. These included self portraits, nudes, and portraits of New York celebrities such as Andy Warhol, Joan Armatrading, and Patti Smith. He was heavily influenced by the contemporary New Orleans based artist,George Dureau. Robert Mapplethorpe’s more famous works include the photograph seriesThe Perfect Moment(1989) and the controversial 1986 series,Black Males.His most well known photograph is a black and white portrait of Patti Smith leaning up against a wall. The image was used for the cover of her famous and influential rock album, Horses (1979). Robert Mapplethorpe continued to work throughout the 1980's until his health declined and he passed away from AIDS at the age of 42. (Artist website) Read Less