"Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) was an artist who infused art with personal reference, subjective expression, and allusion to real time and emotion. Among the foremost subjects and objects that Mapplethorpe pursued were the self, the body, body parts, sexual organs, and sexuality.".

"The black-and-white Polaroid photographs that Mapplethorpe produced during the early 1970s constitute an in-depth self-portrait, intently and graphically exploring expressions, moods, postures, and actions that range from angelic and innocent to sinister and erotic. Comprised of Mapplethorpe's earliest photographs, Autoportrait presents the artist's most revealing attempts to wed the erotic and sexual with other theoretical concerns.".

"Containing numerous unpublished photographs, Autoportrait confirms Mapplethorpe's aesthetic alignment with other artists of his generation while simultaneously presenting his singular vision that helped shift the direction of late-twentieth-century art. With an informative essay by noted scholar Richard Marshall, Autoportrait is certain to be an invaluable addition to the literature on Robert Mapplethorpe. It is produced in association with the Cheim and Read Gallery, New York City."--BOOK JACKET.