Ritts, Herb

(1952-2002)

   Born in Los Angeles to a wealthy family in the furniture business, Ritts attended Bard College in upstate New York and graduated in 1974 with an economics degree. He returned to Los Angeles and worked as a sales representative at the family business while taking evening classes in photography. His first photographic assignment came in 1978 when he made stills on the set of The Champ; his big break came in 1979, when a friend introduced him to then-unknown actor Richard Gere, for whom he did a series of portraits in the desert. When Gere rose to stardom a year later, it was in part due to the sensual and gritty photos taken by Ritts which were used as publicity shots and then appeared on numerous national magazine covers. During the 1980s and 1990s, Ritts worked with Harper's Bazaar, Rolling Stone, Vogue, and Vanity Fair. His photography appealed to the young media-conscious audience of the 1980s. Edgy ads for the Gap and other clients such as Guess, Revlon, Cartier, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Versace, and Donna Karan made him a much sought-after advertising photographer. In addition to fashion, Ritts photographed numerous celebrities, including the Dalai Lama, Cindy Crawford, Jack Nicholson, Elizabeth Taylor, and Ben Affleck. He is credited with creating Madonna's image on her album covers True Blue and Papa Don't Preach as well as her "Cherish"(1989) music video. In 1991, he won an MTV Video Music Award for Janet Jackson's "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" and Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game." Ritts's work has appeared in several museum exhibitions and in numerous publications. His books include Africa Vol. 0, Notorious, Duo, Men and Women, Herb Ritts, Herb Ritts: Work, Herb Ritts: Pictures, Kaz, and Stern Portfolio: Body Art and Work. He is best known for his black-and-white glamour photography, with its roots in classical Greek sculpture, and for his sensual male and female nudes.