Throughout his career, Mapplethorpe took self portraits as a means of expression. This powerful close-up of his eyes was taken only a few months before his death at the age of 42 from AIDS-related complications. Despite his illness, the artist’s stare is forceful and unflinching. These haunting eyes belong to a brave man who confronted mortality and pursued his art until the very end.

This image was realised only as a gelatin silver print in an edition of 10 + 2 AP. Prints of this image have been acquired by the following institutions: Tate/National Galleries of Scotland, UK; Getty Museum/LACMA, Los Angeles; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and Museum of Modern Art, New York. This exceedingly rare photograph was acquired by the present owner in 1996 at auction – the only time this image has appeared at auction – and has been in the same private collection for 20 years.

Phillips is a proud sponsor of the exhibition Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Medium at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), 20 March – 31 July, 2016. A companion exhibition is presented concurrently at the J. Paul Getty Museum.