Patti Smith (Neckbrace), New York
Artist
Robert Mapplethorpe
(American, 1946 - 1989)
CultureAmerican
Date1977
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 14 x 14 in. (35.6 x 35.6 cm)
Overall, Paper: 19 7/8 × 15 7/8 in. (50.5 × 40.3 cm)
Overall, Mat: 25 13/16 × 21 in. (65.6 × 53.3 cm)
Overall, Paper: 19 7/8 × 15 7/8 in. (50.5 × 40.3 cm)
Overall, Mat: 25 13/16 × 21 in. (65.6 × 53.3 cm)
SignedVerso, in pencil, BR: "Robert Mapplethorpe"
InscribedVerso, in pevil, BL: "Patti Smith (Neck Brace) New York 1977"
Credit LineGift of the artist
Object number78.418A
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a gelatin silver print depicting a woman holding a neckbrace.Label TextRobert Mapplethorpe American, 1946–1989 Patti Smith (Neckbrace), New York, 1977 Gelatin silver print This portrait is a testament to a deep bond. Robert Mapplethorpe and punk rock singer and poet Patti Smith met in New York in the late 1960s, becoming roommates, lovers, and lifelong friends. In 1977, Smith took a fall from a stage during a performance, fracturing several vertebrae in her neck. The portrait Mapplethorpe took that year shows Smith in a state of convalescence, holding her neck brace out toward the camera. Gift of the artist 78.418AExhibition History"Photographs from the Chrysler Museum," The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., Feb. 26 - April 23, 1989. "The Portrait in America," The Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photography Galleries, The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., Jan. 26 - April 8, 1990. "Silver Images: The Photography Collection at 25," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., November 5, 2003 - August 2004. "Portraying a Nation: American Portrait Photography, 1850-2010," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, August 25, 2010 - September 11, 2011. "The Nexus," Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA, January 25 - April 28, 2013. "Come Together, Right Now: The Art of Gathering," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, October 11, 2020 - January 3, 2021. "Facing Ourselves: Mike Disfarmer and the American Portrait," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, December 16, 2022 - May 14, 2023.Published ReferencesBrooks Johnson, _The Portrait in America_, exh. cat., The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., 1990, 8-9, 57. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 119, fig. 144. ISBN: 978-0-940744-72-1
