Robert Mapplethorpe was a Manhattan photographer best known for his avant-garde images. His erotic art explored a wide range of sexual subjects, depicting female bodybuilders, the Gay BDSM subculture of New York in the 1970s, and classical nudes. Much of his work was considered obscene and sparked a debate in the United States concerning the Constitutional limits of free speech in art. Mapplethorpe died in 1989 at the age of 42 due to complications from HIV/AIDS. Here we see "Homage to Mapplethorpe," a photographic tribute to the artist as a young man, and his final image (over his left shoulder) as a metaphor for Life/Death and free will. Perfect for modern interior design and the best art galleries on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.