Herb Ritts

Herb Ritts (August 13, 1952 - December 26, 2002) was a fashion photographer who concentrated on black and white photography and portraits in the style of classical Greek sculpture. Consequently some of his more famous pieces are of male and female nudes in what can be called glamour photography.

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He was born in Los Angeles, California to a prosperous family who owned a furniture business.

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In 1974 he received an economics degree from Bard College in upstate New York and soon after returned to Los Angeles to work as a sales representative for his family's business.

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However, Ritts started taking night classes in photography and decided to dedicate himself to the art in the late 1970s. His first break into the business occurred as a result of taking portraits of his actor friend Richard Gere. These photos gained national exposure on the covers of many magazines.

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Throughout the 1980s and 1990s he worked with Harper's Bazaar, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and Vogue magazines on portraits of famous people and artistic photos of models.

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Subjects of his black-and-white celebrity portraits included Kofi Annan, Cindy Crawford, Tenzin Gyatso (the Dalai Lama), Madonna, Jack Nicholson and Elizabeth Taylor.

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Ritts also directed several music videos. In 1991 two of these, Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" and Janet Jackson's "Love Will Never Do (Without You)", won MTV awards.

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Having been HIV-positive for years, he died in Los Angeles from pneumonia-related complications. He leaves his partner Erik Hyman.

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See also: The erotic male in photography

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August 13: August 13 is the 225th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (226th in leap years), with 140 days remaining....

1952: 1952 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar)....

December 26: December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. There are 5 days remaining....

Herb Ritts related Images and Photos (experimental)

Herb Pots	Herb Alpert	Herb Alpert	Country Herb Collection
Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass: Whipped Cream ...	Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass: Whipped Cream ...	Herb Garden 2012 Wall Calendar	Kitchen Herb 2011 Wall Calendar
Herb Gardens 2012 Wall Calendar	Herb Garden 2012 Vertical Wall Calendar	Bob Marley Herb Fabric Poster Wall Hanging	Kitchen Herb Weekly 2011 Wall Calendar