DAY 13

FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHERS

Herb Ritts (1952–2002)

OUT OF THE DESERT

A self-taught photographer, Herb Ritts got his start in 1978, when a twist of fate left him stranded in the desert with friend and actor Richard Gere, whom he photographed in front of a jacked-up old Buick in a mechanic’s garage.¹ Although he was working as a salesman at the time, the picture gained Ritts notoriety, and his career as a photographer quickly blossomed.

He is known for his black and white images that evoke the classic forms of Greek sculpture, with clean lines and strong forms glorifying the human body, showcasing its sleek, refined beauty juxtaposed with light and shadow. Figures so perfect they are almost surreal often appear against natural textures, such as clay, sand, branches, and desert.

Ritts captured the supermodel era of the 1980s, photographing well-known faces, such as Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, and Naomi Campbell. His editorial fashion work appeared in a diverse scope of magazines, including Interview, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, Rolling Stone, Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Elle, with portraits of celebrities from Madonna to Cher, and Dizzy Gillespie to the Dalai Lama. Additionally, he photographed for leading fashion designers, such as Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Gianni Versace, and Calvin Klein.

In 2008, the Boston Museum of Fine Art opened the Herb Ritts Gallery; it is the museum’s first permanent space dedicated to photography. Books of his work include: Pictures (1988), Men/Women (1989), Duo (1991), Notorious (1992), Africa (1994), Work (1996), and Herb Ritts (1999). —GC