Robert Mapplethorpe
(1946-1989)
Miep Brons (in Fong Leng) (1980)
Signed and dated ’80 lower right
Signed, dated 1980 and with copyright stamp on the reverse
Gelatin silver print, 35.3 x 35.3 cm (image size) / 50.4 x 40.6 cm (sheet size)
Provenance:
Collection Loek Brons, thence by descent
Literature:
E. Barents, Robert Mapplethorpe, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1988
Note:
Miep Brons (1943-2016) started working as a sales assistant at the age of 14 for Loek Brons, whom she had already met as a customer in his store two years earlier. She remained professionally connected to him and later, in 1983, married Brons. He had become a successful textile trader and later an important art dealer. Miep became well-known after establishing and operating a chain of Jumbo adult video stores as a businesswoman. Through her provocative songs and media appearances, she helped destigmatize sexuality. Towards the end of her career, she focused her sales activities on homoerotic content.
* Condition report available upon request