Robert MapplethorpeAndy Warhol 1983, printed 1990

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was one of the most influential artists of the late twentieth century. Indeed, Mapplethorpe had idolised him while he was studying at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in the late 1960s. However, by 1973 when they showed together at the Gotham Book Mart in New York, they were distrustful of each other. Photographed at the same time as the other 1983 portrait in ARTIST ROOMS, Mapplethorpe has selected just Warhol’s head and shoulders. Leaning against the white wall to the left, his body in profile, Warhol turns his head to face the camera, exhibiting his customary blank expression.