Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on black and white photography and portraits, often in the style of classical

Greek sculpture The sculpture of ancient Greece is the main surviving type of fine ancient Greek art as, with the exception of painted ancient Greek pottery, almost no ancient Greek painting survives. Modern scholarship identifies three major stages in monum ...

, which emphasized the human shape.

Early life and education

Born in Los Angeles, to a Jewish family, Ritts began his career working in the family furniture business. His father, Herb Ritts Sr., was a businessman, while his mother, Shirley Ritts, was an interior designer. He moved to the East Coast to attend

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1860, ...

in New York, where he majored in economics and art history, graduating in 1975.

Career

Later, while living in Los Angeles, he became interested in photography when he and friend

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

, then an aspiring actor, decided to shoot some photographs in front of an old jacked up Buick. The picture gained Ritts some coverage and he began to be more serious about photography. He photographed

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film '' Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

for the cover of the October 12, 1981 edition of ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'' and he photographed

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one s ...

for her ''

Physical Physical may refer to: * Physical examination, a regular overall check-up with a doctor * ''Physical'' (Olivia Newton-John album), 1981 ** "Physical" (Olivia Newton-John song) * ''Physical'' (Gabe Gurnsey album) * "Physical" (Alcazar song) (2004) * ...

'' album in 1981. Five years later he replicated that cover pose with

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

for her 1986 release '' True Blue''. That same year he photographed

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

for the album ''

Break Every Rule ''Break Every Rule'' is the sixth solo studio album by Tina Turner. It was released on September 5, 1986, through Capitol Records in the US. It was the follow-up to Turner's globally successful comeback album, ''Private Dancer'', released two ye ...

''. During the 1980s and 1990s, Ritts photographed celebrities in various locales throughout California. Some of his subjects during this time included musical artists. He also took fashion and nude photographs of models

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...

, Stephanie Seymour, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington, and

Cindy Crawford Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model, actress and television personality. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways, as well as fash ...

, including " Tatjana, Veiled Head, Tight View, Joshua Tree, 1988." Ritts' work with them ushered in the 1990s era of the supermodel and was consecrated by one of his most celebrated images, "Stephanie, Cindy, Christy, Tatjana, Naomi, Hollywood, 1989" taken for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine. He also worked for ''

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', '' Mademoiselle'', '' Glamour'', '' GQ'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'', ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the ...

'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'', ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', '' Allure'', ''

Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Literature * Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan * ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray * ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...

'', '' Details'', and ''

''. Ritts took publicity portraits for ''Batman'', '' Batman Forever'', and ''Batman & Robin'' which appeared on magazine covers and merchandise throughout the 1990s. He published books on photography for various fashion designers. From 1996 to 1997 Ritts' work was displayed at the

Boston Museum of Fine Arts The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

in Boston, attracting more than 250,000 people to the exhibit, and in 2003 a solo exhibition was held at the Daimaru Museum, in Kyoto, Japan.

Personal life

Ritts was openly gay. He was in a relationship with entertainment lawyer Erik Hyman from 1996 until his death in 2002.

Death

On December 26, 2002, Ritts died in Los Angeles of complications from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

at the age of 50. According to Ritts' publicist, "Herb was

HIV-positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immun ...

, but this particular pneumonia was not PCP (

pneumocystis pneumonia ''Pneumocystis'' pneumonia (PCP), also known as ''Pneumocystis jirovecii'' pneumonia (PJP), is a form of pneumonia that is caused by the yeast-like fungus ''Pneumocystis jirovecii''. ''Pneumocystis'' specimens are commonly found in the lungs of ...

), a common

opportunistic infection An opportunistic infection is an infection caused by pathogens (bacteria, fungi, parasites or viruses) that take advantage of an opportunity not normally available. These opportunities can stem from a variety of sources, such as a weakened immun ...

of AIDS. But at the end of the day, his immune system was compromised."

Music videos

Publications

* ''Pictures'', Twin Palms, 1988 * ''Men/Women'', Twin Palms, 1989 * ''Duo'', Twin Palms, 1991 * ''Notorious'', Little, Brown and Company/Bulfinch, 1992 * ''Africa'', Little, Brown and Company/Bulfinch, 1994 * ''Work'', Little, Brown and Company/Bulfinch, 1996 * ''Herb Ritts'', Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, 1999 * ''Herb Ritts L.A. Style'', Getty, 2012

Exhibitions

* ''Herb Ritts: The Rock Portraits'',

Chrysler Museum of Art The Chrysler Museum of Art is an art museum on the border between downtown and the Ghent district of Norfolk, Virginia. The museum was founded in 1933 as the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences. In 1971, automotive heir, Walter P. Chrysler Jr. ...

, Norfolk, VA, 2016. * ''Herb Ritts: The Rock Portraits'',

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

, Cleveland, OH, 2015/16 * ''Herb Ritts'',

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

, MA, 2015 * ''Herb Ritts: Super'', Hamilton's Gallery, London, 2016/17 * ''Herb Ritts: Super II'', Hamilton's Gallery, London, 2017

References

External links

*
Herb Ritts on artnet Monographs
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritts, Herb 1952 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American photographers 21st-century American photographers AIDS-related deaths in California Album-cover and concert-poster artists American erotic photographers American music video directors American people of Jewish descent Bard College alumni Deaths from pneumonia in California Fashion photographers Gay artists LGBT Jews LGBT photographers from the United States Photographers from Los Angeles Physique photographers University High School (Los Angeles) alumni 20th-century LGBT people