Remembering Lloyd Ziff: A Lens on Youth and Art
Lloyd Ziff was not yet the acclaimed art director he would later become in 1968 when he captured a poignant moment in time by photographing his art school classmate, Robert Mapplethorpe, alongside his girlfriend, Patti Smith, in their modest Brooklyn apartment. Reflecting on those days, Mr. Ziff remarked, “I found them very beautiful.”
The black-and-white portraits he created are imbued with tenderness and emotion, a bittersweet glimpse into the lives of two artists on the brink of fame. As James Danziger, the gallerist who showcased these works in 2013, noted recently, “Youth is moving. They capture a moment in time just before Patti and Robert were going to explode. They both carried an aura, and Lloyd was drawn to that. They wanted to be photographed just as much as he wanted to photograph them.”
In those intimate photographs taken in 1968, Mr. Ziff immortalized the essence of Mapplethorpe and Smith, who would later rise to prominence in the art world, albeit not without their share of tragedy. Mapplethorpe succumbed to AIDS in 1989, leaving behind a legacy that would resonate for decades. Patti Smith, in her acclaimed 2010 memoir Just Kids, included several of Mr. Ziff’s portraits, paying homage to the beauty and complexity of their shared youth.
Reflecting on his connection with the couple, Mr. Ziff expressed, “Although we weren’t particularly close, I believe we recognized in each other something we probably couldn’t put into words at the time.”
Sadly, Lloyd Ziff passed away on August 1 at his home in Orient Point, New York, located on Long Island. He was 81 years old. His husband, Stephen Kelemen, confirmed the news, sharing that Mr. Ziff had been experiencing declining health.
