Wagstaff: Before and After Mapplethorpe: A Biography [Paperback]

A legendary curator, collector, and patron of the arts, Sam Wagstaff was a figure who stood at the intersection of gay life and the art world and brought glamour and daring to both (Andrew Solomon). Now, in Philip Gefter's groundbreaking biography, he emerges as a cultural visionary. Gefter documents the influence of the man whoalthough known today primarily as the mentor and lover of Robert Mapplethorpe almost invented the idea of photography as art (Edmund White).This thorough, entertaining biography portrays a blue blood who charmed East Coast society but also loved to scandalize&Gefter captures the brilliance of that world and its decline in the face of AIDS.Winner of the Arts Club of Washington Marfield Prize