Herb Ritts (American, 1952–2002) is one of the most notable fashion and portrait photographers of the late 1980s and 1990s. Ritts grew up in California, and studied Economics and Art History at Bard College in New York, before returning to the West Coast. His spontaneous photographs of
Richard Gere at the start of the actor’s career in 1978 were published in American
Vogue,
Esquire, and
Mademoiselle. Fashion designers in Europe and magazines in New York recognized Ritts self-taught talent, and their commissions established Ritts as a renowned photographer. Ritts’ photographs, described as “Retro-Neo-Deco” in style, were often shot in dramatic locations, such as
deserts,
seascapes, and
places of vast beauty.
Ritts is famous for his
Fred with Tires series (1984), and his portrait of
Madonna for the cover of her record-breaking 1986 album
True Blue, as well as unconventional photographs of
Elizabeth Taylor and
Dizzy Gillepsie. His subjects also include Antonio Banderas,
Charles Bukowski,
William S. Burroughs, Stephen Hawking, Michael Jordan, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, B.B. King, Nelson Mandela, Edward Norton, Christopher Reeve, and
Tina Turner, as well as fellow artists
Keith Haring (American, 1958–1990),
Robert Rauschenberg,
Louise Bourgeois,
Francesco Clemente,
Roy Lichtenstein. Ritts’s understanding of the body, its light, texture, and warmth, enabled him to portray iconic images of women and men alike. Ritts authored many books, such as
Men/Women (1989),
Notorious (1992),
Africa (1994),
Work (1996),
Duo (1991), and
Pictures (1988).
His work has been exhibited in numerous museums, such as the Fondation Cartier Pour L'Art Contemporain in Paris, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles, CA, the National Portrait Gallery and the Hayward Gallery in London, and PS1 Contemporary Art Center, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, NY. Several of his works have also been acquired by The Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA.
