The Rock Portraits – Herb Ritts

08/11/2016

Herb Ritts, David Bowie III, Los Angeles, 1987, Photographed for Rolling Stone Image © and courtesy, Herb Ritts Foundation

Here's a way to see rock 'n' roll royalty—David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Madonna, Prince, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, and more—through the eyes of a top photographer. The Chrysler Museum of Art shows, up until September 18th, 2016, Masterpieces of Herb Ritts.


Ritts shot these intimate portraits for Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and other leading magazines, and he was widely hailed for his ability to connect with his subjects.
From B.B. King to Bruce Springsteen, from Bono to Britney Spears, come face-to-face with the kings and queens of pop music in this touring exhibition from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.

Herbert Ritts also known as Herb was a notorious American art and commercial director as well as a fashion and portrait photographer who mainly worked in black and white. He was born in 1952 in Los Angeles in a Jewish family. His father was a businessman while his mother worked as an interior designer. His first work experience was in his father’s business. In New York, Ritts attended Bard College where his majors were art history and economics. Soon after that, he befriended Richard Gere and also became attracted to photography while residing in Los Angeles. Gere at the time was an actor with much potential and was convinced to be photographed. For these photos, Ritts gained reasonable coverage which in result motivated him to take photography seriously. For Elle’s 1981 cover, he took pictures of Olivia Newton-John for her album, Physical. After five years, he replicated the pose on the 1981s cover with Madonna for her album True Blue which released in 1986.In 2002, the photographer cum director suffered from pneumonia and died when he was 50 years old. He was alleged of being HIV positive by a publicist however it had nothing to do with AIDS. He lost his life finally once his immune system failed.

More informations at: www.chrysler.org