Jean-Paul Goude and Grace Jones, Long Island NY, 10 Aug 1992 by Jonathan Becker
About the Item
- Creator:Jonathan Becker (Artist)
- Dimensions:Height: 44.5 in (113.03 cm)Width: 44 in (111.76 cm)Depth: 0.25 in (6.35 mm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2021
- Production Type:New & Custom(Limited Edition)
- Estimated Production Time:Available Now
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Pound Ridge, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU813524480922
Jonathan Becker
With a style at once impactful, reflective and irreverent, photographer Jonathan Becker belongs more to the artistic than the documentarian realm, masterfully capturing a theatrical sense of the unexpected as he offers glimpses into rarefied worlds.
Bea Feitler — the late, legendary artistic director responsible for vamping up Harper’s Bazaar and Rolling Stone in the 1960s and ’70s — gave Becker his first big break, in 1981, when she asked him to submit images for the relaunch of Vanity Fair.
Becker, who was 26 at the time, had already been the first Paris-based photographer for W magazine and had forged a close friendship with French-Hungarian Surrealist photographer Brassaï, who was then in his 70s. By this age, too, Becker had also developed an enviable reputation as a portrait photographer working on Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine and alongside Slim Aarons and Norman Parkinson at Town & Country, although he knew not to step on his famous colleagues’ toes. “I was a young little interloper,” he says. “I learned more by listening and watching those giants than by trying to engage in any direct interactions with them.”
The young photographer, who was moonlighting at the time as a New York City cab driver, hadn’t dreamed that the project would put his pictures on an equal footing with those of legends of the medium: Also contributing to this debut edition were some of photography’s most revered names, including Richard Avedon, Irving Penn and Helmut Newton, as well as rising star Annie Leibovitz, whose popularity had recently skyrocketed, thanks to her Rolling Stone cover picture of a naked John Lennon curled up alongside a fully clothed Yoko Ono.
That issue was a game changer in modern magazine publishing, with Vanity Fair setting the bar for engaging editorial and daring design for decades to come. It also signaled the making of a man: Becker’s talent for visual storytelling shone through in his avant-gardist tribute, and the magazine’s creative team kept him on, marking the start of his long career there.
As a regular Vanity Fair contributor, Becker operated in the highest echelons of society, traveling the world and immortalizing countless A-list movers, shakers and thinkers from the fields of fashion, culture and politics, not to mention royalty.
Becker's unconventional way of directing his eye is clearly instinctual, resulting in an unusual aesthetic that mixes perception, myth and reality in equal measure. This balance is most apparent in his famous black-and-white picture of Robert Mapplethorpe, taken in 1988 at the opening of Mapplethorpe’s retrospective exhibition at the Whitney, when the famed photographer was dying of AIDS. It is a group shot, showing various figures at different angles, in which Mapplethorpe, caught in profile and listening intently to a woman kneeling beside him, seems to stop time. The moment is heavy with emotion and also dreamlike. It is ineffably surreal.
Becker has given us Stephen King as a cross-eyed zombie (1980); Dustin Hoffman as a mischief maker, lounging on a stack of sun loungers at the Beverly Hills Hotel (2004); and Diana Vreeland as an aging Raphaelesque Madonna dressed in a voluminous black gown and sitting cross-legged in her famous red-clad living room at 550 Park Avenue (1979). The photographer, a lover of spontaneity who deftly plays with perspectives, keeps us intrigued with his open-ended narratives.
Find a collection of Jonathan Becker photography on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Pound Ridge, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Andy Warhol and His Corsets at the Fourth Factory, NY, 1986, by Jonathan BeckerBy Jonathan BeckerLocated in Pound Ridge, NYAndy Warhol and his Corsets at the Fourth Factory, New York, 1986 "Andy had to wear corsets ever after he was shot in the abdomen. The ever-devoted Brigid "Polk" Berlin dyed them f...Category
2010s American Photography
MaterialsPaper
- At the Eden Roc, Cap d’Antibes, France, 17 May 2008, by Jonathan BeckerBy Jonathan BeckerLocated in Pound Ridge, NYAt the Eden Roc, Cap d’Antibes, France, 17 May 2008, Photographed by Jonathan Becker Contemporary Color Landscape Photography 44" x 44.5" Archival Pigment Print Edition Nº 1 of ...Category
2010s American Photography
MaterialsPaper
- Italian Glass and Chrome Wall Lights by OluceBy OluceLocated in Pound Ridge, NY1960s Italian wall lights by Oluce with mushroom shaped glass globes. Avantgarden Ltd. cultivates unexpected and exceptional lighting, furniture and design. To view items in person please visit our showroom in Pound Ridge...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
- Pair of Enameled Metal and Glass Pendants or Sconces by Sergio Mazza, ArtemideBy Sergio MazzaLocated in Pound Ridge, NYPair of versatile Sergio Mazza light fixtures which can be hanging pendants or wall sconces, enameled metal with glass shades, and brushed metal detail; pole or fittings can be custo...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Quarto Wall Sconce by Tobia Scarpa for Flos in Chrome and Lucite, 1970sBy Tobia ScarpaLocated in Pound Ridge, NYLarge half bowl wall sconces designed by Tobia Scarpa for Flos, in chrome-plated aluminum and lucite reflector. Six available. Price is per fixture. Avantgarden Ltd. cultivates unexpected and exceptional lighting, furniture and design. To view items in person please visit our showroom in Pound Ridge...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsCut Steel, Chrome
- Iron and steel Bertoia Style SculptureLocated in Pound Ridge, NYMid century weathered steel and iron atomic age sculpture. In the style of Bertoia. Can be used indoor or outdoor.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Sculptures
MaterialsIron
- "The Swans of Squassex, " by Photographer Patrice Casanova, Long Island, NYBy Patrice CasanovaLocated in Bellport, NYA swan ballet by renowned Photographer Patrice Casanova. Limited addition of 20 images. Image size 12 x 17, framed 18 x 25 inches.Category
Late 20th Century American Art Nouveau Photography
MaterialsPaper
- Photography by Frédéric Brenner "Rome", 1992 1992Located in Saint ouen, FRPhotography by Frédéric Brenner "Rome 1992 1992 With canopy: h 60 x L 80 cm Without canopy: h 49 cm x w 67 cm Print on photographic paper Frédéric Brenner is a French-Israeli documentary photographer, born in 1959 in Paris. He has dedicated his life to the photographic documentary study of the Jewish people...Category
Vintage 1980s Photography
MaterialsPaper
- Seceda by Christiaan NiesLocated in Weesp, NLSeceda Photographed by: Christiaan Nies Date: November 2017 Dimensions: Height 120 cm x width 180 cm. height 47.24 inch x width 70.87 inch Limited edition of 5 + 1 AP in the si...Category
2010s Dutch Modern Photography
MaterialsAcrylic
- Cadini di Misurina by Christiaan NiesLocated in Weesp, NLCadini di Misurina Photographed by: Christiaan Nies Date: October 2017 Dimensions: Height 120 cm x width 180 cm. height 47.24 inch x width 70.87 inch Limited edition: 5 + 1 AP in th...Category
2010s Dutch Modern Photography
MaterialsAcrylic
- Ibex Mont Blanc by Christiaan NiesLocated in Weesp, NLIbex Mont Blanc Photographed by: Christiaan Nies Date: July 2017 Dimensions: Width 120 cm x Height 150 cm. Width 47.24 inch x Height 59.06 inch Limited edition of 5 + 1 AP in t...Category
2010s Dutch Modern Photography
MaterialsAcrylic
- Lake House Dolomites by Christiaan NiesLocated in Weesp, NLLake House Dolomites Photographed by: Christiaan Nies Date: October 2017 Dimensions: Width 120 cm x height 150 cm. Width 47.24 inch x height 59.06 inch...Category
2010s European Modern Photography
MaterialsAcrylic