Robert Mapplethorpe & Patti Smith by Norman Seeff, NYC 1969

Tim Hardin & Karen Dalton

Bob Dylan, Karen Dalton and Fred Neil performing in New York in 1961

portraits of patti smith by robert mapplethorpe

I wrote a big star on the side of a RED BRICK WALL.. I danced in the street… aLone. aND (thought) OF YOU IN TIMES SQUARE - Letter from Patti Smith to Robert Mapplethorpe, july 7, 1969

Patti Smith photographed by Robert Mapplethorpe , 1973

Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe photographed by Kate Simon, 1977.

In her memoir Just Kids, Patti Smith details her intense relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe in which they struggle to become artists in New York City. They lived together at the Hotel Chelsea – home to numerous writers, musicians, actors and artists. Patti supported Robert by working in bookstores, he soon flourished as a photographer and encouraged her to pursue visual art. As a writer, Patti eventually turned her poems into songwriting. For the cover of her debut album, Horses (1975), Patti used a portrait Robert took. Once Robert came out as a gay man their intimate relationship ended but they remained friends until his death from HIV/AIDS in 1989.

Phantom of the Paradise (1974) Suspiria (1977) Shock Treatment (1981)