David LaChapelle's highly polished, saturated and intricately composed photographs possess the surreal wildness of fever dreams, concocted as they are out of the imagery of celebrity, eroticism and modern Americana, and spiked with religious allegory and forebodings of doom.
Such work has made him among the most influential art and celebrity photographers of his generation. You might say LaChapelle sprung straight from the head of Andy Warhol, whose campy silkscreen fusions of the glamorous, the transgressive and the everyday forever changed contemporary art.
Like so many young gay artists who came out of the 1980s downtown New York scene, LaChapelle’s escapist visions arose out of a lonely, bullied adolescence. Although born in Connecticut, the photographer spent his early childhood in North Carolina, the youngest of three children. Later, when LaChapelle was in his early teens, his family moved back to suburban Connecticut, but his cowboy costumes and gender-bending ways did not earn LaChapelle friends among his new preppy classmates.
By high school, LaChapelle felt terrorized and suicidal. He fled to New York, where his good looks got him a job bussing tables at Studio 54. It was there that he reputedly first met Warhol, who had been his favorite artist since he first gazed upon a Gold Marilyn, while on a fourth-grade field trip to a museum.
LaChapelle's parents eventually retrieved him from New York, and, sympathizing with his plight, sent him off to the North Carolina School of the Arts. Despite a more embracing atmosphere, he didn’t stay long. A sojourn in London followed. When he returned to New York, around 1983, the punk-inflected downtown culture was churning out gritty new art. Keith Haring’s gay-themed Pop-art graffiti was in everybody’s face, and Robert Mapplethorpe’s S&M photos were on gallery walls.
Having scored a show of his black-and-white photography — already vaguely campy and transfiguration-obsessed — at New York’s then-fledgling 303 Gallery in 1984, LaChapelle attracted the interest of Interview magazine. Warhol was then at the zenith of his influence in both the art world and the downtown scene. Recognizing LaChapelle’s potential as an eye-catching celebrity photographer, he put him on staff, providing him with the creative milieu where his distinctive talent might develop.
There were editorial assignments for i-D, The Face and later for Vanity Fair, Vogue Paris and Rolling Stone. He also made excursions into advertising. One of his most talked about campaigns was a provocative print ad for Diesel jeans inspired by the famous photograph of the V-J kiss in Times Square, but this time showing Tom of Finland–type sailors in passionate embrace.
After being without an editorial home for several years, LaChapelle finally found a base at Details, where he was again encouraged to let his freak flag fly. So arresting were his images that it wasn’t long before “the Fellini of photography,” as New York magazine dubbed him in 1996, was again working for Interview. One of his most emblematic pictures from this era was a Lil’ Kim cover for that magazine, featuring the rapper’s nude body emblazoned with Louis Vuitton insignia (one of the most famous logos in luxury fashion).
Such visually zany, socially astute portraits prompted Richard Avedon to liken LaChapelle to a photographic Magritte, while also winning him invitations to direct music videos for such talents as Christina Aguilera, Moby and Amy Winehouse.
Find a collection of original David LaChapelle photography today on 1stDibs.
Gisele: Snake Charmer
By David LaChapelle
Located in Toronto, Ontario
In the early 1990s, David LaChapelle (b.1963) ushered in a new era of fashion photography. He created ground-breaking images with hyper-glossy, celebrity-obsessed, surrealism. LaCha...
C Print
Price Upon Request
Archangel Uriel
By David LaChapelle
Located in New York, NY
David LaChapelle Archangel Uriel 1985/2022 Signed and numbered on label, verso Archival pigment print (Edition of 500) 16 x 12 inches Contact gall...
Archival Pigment
Price Upon Request
Elizabeth Taylor: National Velvet
By David LaChapelle
Located in New York, NY
Elizabeth Taylor: National Velvet 2002/2022 Signed and numbered on label, verso Archival pigment print (Edition of 500) 10 x 16 inches Contact gallery for price. This work is of...
Archival Pigment
Price Upon Request
Vulgar Tears, Paris, 1995
By David LaChapelle
Located in New York, NY
Edition of 10 + 3 Artist's Proofs
Archival Pigment
Price Upon Request
David and Amanda, New York
By David LaChapelle
Located in New York, NY
Amanda Lepore’s birth name was Armand Lepore. In the early 1980’s, three decades before transgender rights became a social issue, she began her devotion to the plastic surgery that would transform her in to a downtown New York icon and frequent muse to photographer David LaChapelle. Filmmaker Joel Schumacher has called Lepore a “moving sculpture...
C Print
Fish Stick: Devon Aoki in Agent Provocateur, London
By David LaChapelle
Located in New York, NY
Edition of 7 + 3 Artist’s Proofs Signed by the photographer
C Print
Price Upon Request
Rebirth of Venus
By David LaChapelle
Located in New York, NY
Sandro Botticelli’s iconic painting The Birth of Venus (click here) was created in the late 15th century and depicts the mythological origin of the goddess Aphrodite (known also as Venus, the goddess of love and sex), who was born an adult woman from sea foam. Although this myth was very popular with artists beginning in the 16th century, Botticelli’s painting...
C Print
The Secret of Muhammad Ali
By Al Satterwhite
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 25 Signed and numbered by artist. Paper size: 20 x 16 in. *Available in additional sizes Al Satterwhite started working as a photographer at a major daily newspaper in F...
Archival Pigment
$3,850
H 16 in W 20 in D 0.1 in
Monaco Grand Prix, 1973 - Monaco Grand Prix Formula One James Hunt
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Monaco Grand Prix, 1973 - Monaco Grand Prix Formula One James Hunt by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. 'Monaco Grand Prix' is a beautiful Limited Edition Estate Stamped Digital C-Type print from 20th Century photographer Slim Aarons. A unique view from the driver's height of Formula One Grand Prix...
Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Digital
Bravo II
By Jan Rattia
Located in New York, NY
Chromogenic print Signed, titled, dated, and numbered, verso 22.5 x 30 inches (Edition of 5 + 2 APs) 45 x 60 inches (Edition of 3 + 2 APs) This artwork is offered by ClampArt, loc...
C Print
Keep Your Cool - Backgammon Players Swimming Pool France
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Keep Your Cool - Backgammon Players Swimming Pool France by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. Keep Your Cool is a Lim...
Color, C Print, Digital, Photographic Paper
$3,850
H 16 in W 20 in D 0.1 in
Catch Up by the Pool, 1970 - Poolside Conversation, Kaufmann House Palm Springs
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Catch Up by the Pool, 1970 - Poolside Conversation, Kaufmann House Palm Springs by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. ...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
Laundry
By Luke Smalley
Located in New York, NY
Digital C-print Stamped and numbered, verso 20 x 24 inches (Edition of 10) 30 x 40 inches (Edition of 5) 50 x 60 inches (Edition of 3) This photograph is offered by ClampArt, loc...
C Print
$2,950
H 36 in W 24 in D 0.1 in
"Meditations" Figurative Portrait Photography 36 x 24 in Ed 1/7 by Aaron Mcpolin
By Aaron McPolin
Located in Culver City, CA
"Meditations" Figurative Portrait Photography 36 x 24 in Ed 1/7 by Aaron Mcpolin Signed and numbered by the artist. Comes with COA issued by the artist Archival Giclee Print NOT fra...
Archival Pigment
Muhammad Ali (Point Left)
By Al Satterwhite
Located in Denton, TX
Edition of 25 Signed and numbered by Al Satterwhite Paper size: 16 x 20 in. *Available in additional sizes Al Satterwhite started working as a photographer at a major daily newspap...
Archival Pigment
$2,950
H 36 in W 24 in D 0.1 in
"Embrace" Figurative Photography 36" x 24" in Ed. 1/7 by Aaron Mcpolin
By Aaron McPolin
Located in Culver City, CA
"Embrace" Figurative Photography 36" x 24" in Ed. 1/7 by Aaron Mcpolin Signed and numbered by the artist. Comes with COA issued by the artist. Archival Giclee Print NOT framed. Shi...
Archival Pigment
$2,500
H 20 in W 16 in D 0.1 in
Muhammad Ali, Fifth Street Gym, Miami by Al Satterwhite, 1971, Photography
By Al Satterwhite
Located in Denton, TX
Archival Pigment Print 20 x 16 in. Edition of 25 Signed and edition in black ink on print margin by Al Satterwhite *Available in additional sizes Al Satterwhite started working as ...
Archival Pigment
Sasha
By Luke Smalley
Located in New York, NY
Digital C-print Stamped and numbered, verso 24 x 20 inches (Edition of 10) 40 x 30 inches (Edition of 5) 60 x 50 inches (Edition of 3) This photograph is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Please note that prices increase as editions sell. Luke Smalley was an American artist known for his photographic work, which pairs a coolly minimalist aesthetic with a retro nostalgia. Images from his early in his career were inspired by fitness manuals and yearbooks c. 1910. This is not surprising since Smalley graduated with a degree in sports medicine from Pepperdine University and worked for a number of years as a model and personal trainer. Smalley shot the bulk of his photographs in his home state of Pennsylvania, using real high school athletes as models. “Exercise at Home” is Luke Smalley’s second major body of work. Shot in and around the tiny Pennsylvania town the artist called home, Smalley revisits themes of adolescent growing pains acted out under the guise of earnest athleticism. Teenagers engage in simple yet strange competitions meant to establish their standings amongst one another. Two youths practice boating safety...
C Print
$3,850
H 16 in W 20 in D 0.1 in
Marisa Berenson - Elsa Schiaparelli Gogo Schiaparelli American Actress Model
By Slim Aarons
Located in Brighton, GB
Marisa Berenson - Elsa Schiaparelli Gogo Schiaparelli American Actress Model by Slim Aarons 16 x 20" print. Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print. Edition of 150. Printed Later. "M...
Photographic Paper, Color, C Print, Digital
Archangel Uriel
By David LaChapelle
Located in New York, NY
David LaChapelle Archangel Uriel 1985/2022 Signed and numbered on label, verso Archival pigment print (Edition of 500) 16 x 12 inches Contact gall...
Archival Pigment
Addicted to Diamonds
By David LaChapelle
Located in Kansas City, MO
David LaChapelle Title: Addicted to Diamonds Medium: C-Print Size: 24 x 20 inches Year: 1997 Edition: 27 + 5 APs Signed by artist David LaChapell...
C Print
Brook Shields: Whipped Cream
By David LaChapelle
Located in New York, NY
Brook Shields: Whipped Cream, 1995 Chromogenic print 24 × 20 in 61 × 50.8 cm Edition of 30
C Print
Sold
H 24 in W 20 in
Drew Barrymore: In Jail, aka. I've Seen Her, She Wants You to Know She is Happy
By David LaChapelle
Located in New York, NY
Drew Barrymore: In Jail, aka. I've Seen Her, She Wants You to Know She is Happy, 1995 Chromogenic print 24 × 20 in 61 × 50.8 cm Edition of 30
C Print