Lot 153
  • 153

Robert Mapplethorpe

Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Robert Mapplethorpe
  • Philip Glass and Robert Wilson
  • titled, numbered 2/5 and [MAP] 58, dated 1976 and stamped with the artist's copyright stamp on the reverse
  • gelatin silver print flush mounted to card
  • Image: 13 7/8 by 13 7/8 in. 35.2 by 35.2 cm.
  • Sheet: 20 by 16 1/8 in. 51 by 41 cm.
  • Executed in 1976, this work is additionally stamped by the Estate of Robert Mapplethorpe, signed by Michael Ward Stout, Executor, and dated 1976 three times on the reverse.
photograph, gelatine silver print on paper
circa 34 by 34cm.
Executed in 1976, this work is numbered one from an edition of three.

Provenance

Robert Miller Gallery, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 1991

Condition

This work is in very good condition overall. There are three areas of unobtrusive hairline soiling at the left edge of the margin of the sheet which are not visible in the frame. The photograph is flush mounted to card. Framed under glass.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Philip Glass, a musical composer, and Robert Wilson, a theater director and playright, famously collaborated on Einstein on the Beach, an opera in four acts that debuted in July 1976. The harmonious and symbiotic partnership is captured here by photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the year the opera opened. Of the collaboration, Glass recalls, "I put [Wilson’s notebook of sketches] on the piano and composed each section like a portrait of the drawing before me. The score was begun in the spring of 1975 and completed by the following November, and those drawings were before me all the time." Einstein on the Beach premiered in Avignon, France and travelled around the world to various European cities, including Paris, Venice and Brussels, and eventually to the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. The successful show, which has been reprised countless times since the original 1976 debut, received substantial funding from patrons Pierre and São Schlumberger, who were integral to making the production possible.