Description
The man who made photography fine art. Sam Wagstaff (1921–1987) was one of the most influential — and enigmatic — figures in twentieth-century art: the visionary curator and collector who helped elevate photography to a major art form, and the patron and lover of Robert Mapplethorpe.
In this acclaimed biography, former New York Times writer Philip Gefter traces Wagstaff’s transformation from buttoned-up advertising executive and curator at the Detroit Institute of Arts into the flamboyant tastemaker of 1970s New York. Drawing on interviews and archives, he explores the pioneering photography collection, the fateful 1972 meeting with Mapplethorpe, and the passionate relationship that shaped both men’s lives — against the rise of photography as fine art and the dawn of the AIDS crisis.
Winner of the Marfield Prize and a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, Wagstaff is both an intimate portrait of a singular life and a vivid chronicle of an era — essential for anyone fascinated by art, photography, and the New York art world.
Sam Wagstaff (1921–1987) was one of the most influential — and enigmatic — figures in twentieth-century art: a visionary curator and collector who helped elevate photography to a major art form, and the patron and lover of Robert Mapplethorpe.
In this acclaimed biography, former New York Times writer Philip Gefter traces Wagstaff’s transformation from a buttoned-up advertising executive and curator at the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Wadsworth Atheneum into the flamboyant tastemaker of the 1970s New York art world. Drawing on interviews and archival material, Gefter explores Wagstaff’s pioneering photography collection, his fateful meeting with Mapplethorpe in 1972, and the passionate, tumultuous relationship that shaped both men’s lives — set against the rise of photography as fine art and the dawn of the AIDS crisis.
Winner of the Marfield Prize and a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, Wagstaff is both an intimate portrait of a singular life and a vivid chronicle of an era — essential reading for anyone fascinated by art, photography, and the New York art world.
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