Skip to main content

Archives at Cornell

Patricia Morrisroe papers

 Collection
Identifier: 8805

Content Description

Materials created and assembled in the process of Patricia Morrisroe's writing of her biography of Robert Mapplethorpe, including the original, unexpurgated interview tapes that she recorded from 1988 to 1990, including those of Mapplethorpe, his family, school friends, his priest, major collaborators, models, lovers and curators, and gallery owners. The collection also includes correspondence, interview transcripts, including many done by phone with Patti Smith, research files, notebooks, invitations and catalogues of most of Mapplethorpe’s exhibitions, original Random House and foreign contracts for the book, an Advance Reader’s Copy marked up by Random House publisher and president Harry Evans, approximately 50 faxes to Morrisroe’s agent, Kathy Robbins, movie contracts, approximately 200 reviews of the book, and 29 carbon copies of letters written to Mapplethorpe by Milton Moore, the love his life and the subject of his most famous photograph – “The Man in Polyester Suit.”

Dates

  • 1933 - 2019

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Box 2 restricted until 2035. Access to audio visual materials is restricted until digitization is complete. Due to the fragility and potential degradation of moving image and sound recordings, viewing and listening is limited to items that have been digitized. If an item is in another media format, you may request to have the item digitized for access. Information on ordering access copies may be found on the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections webpage. Access to digitized audio visual materials is limited to on-site in the RMC reading room until 2035.

Biographical / Historical

Patricia Morrisroe is an American journalist and author. She has written three non-fiction books, a novel, and her journalism has appeared in the New York Times, New York, Vanity Fair and the Sunday Times Magazine (London).

Extent

7.8 cubic feet.

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Patricia Morrisroe papers were created and assembled in the process of writing her biography of Robert Mapplethorpe. They include original interview tapes that she recorded, interview transcripts, correspondence, research files, notebooks, catalogues of most of Mapplethorpe’s exhibitions, publishing and movie contracts, communications, book reviews, and more.

Separated Materials

From Series I. (Books):

Lyon, L. (1983). Robert Mapplethorpe. New York: The Viking Press.

Morrisroe, P. (1995). Mapplethorpe: a biography. New York: Random House (inscribed by author).

From Series IV, subseries IVa. (Books):

Celant, G., ed., Mapplethorpe, R. and Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. (1992). Mapplethorpe versus Rodin. Milano: Electa.

Frankfurter Kunstverein and Weiermair, P. (1981). Robert Mapplethorpe. Frankfurt: Frankfurter Kunstverein.

Kardon J., Joselit D., Larson K., and the University of Pennsylvania. (1990). Robert Mapplethorpe : the perfect moment (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Institute of Contemporary Art.

Mapplethorpe R., Christie, Manson, and Woods, and Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. (1989). The collection of Robert Mapplethorpe : sold for the benefit of the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. New York: Christie's.

Mapplethorpe R. and National Portrait Gallery (Great Britain). (1988). Mapplethorpe portraits. London: National Portrait Gallery.

Mapplethorpe R. (1987). Robert Mapplethorpe. Tokyo: Parco Vision Contemporary.

Mapplethorpe, R. (1993) Robert Mapplethorpe 1992 – 1993. New York/Tokyo: Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation/Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum.

Mapplethorpe R. and Shange, N. (1986). Robert Mapplethorpe black book (1st ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press.

Marshall, R. and Mapplethorpe, R. (1986). 50 New York artists : a critical selection of painters and sculptors working in New York. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.



From Series IV, subseries IVb. (Books):

Bockris. V. and Bayler, R. (1999) Patti Smith. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Bromberg, C. (1989). The Wicked Ways of Malcolm McLaren. New York: Harper and Row (with Morrisroe’s highlighting and underlining).

Burchill, J. and Parsons, T. (1978). The Boy Looked at Johnny: The Obituary of Rock and Roll. London: Pluto Press (with Morrisroe’s highlighting and underlining).

Carroll, J. (1987). The Basketball Diaries. New York: Penguin Books.

Carroll, J. (1987). Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries: 1971-1973. New York: Penguin Books.

Turner, F. (1987). At the Chelsea. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (with Morrisroe’s highlighting and underlining).

Status
Completed
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections Repository

Contact:
2B Carl A. Kroch Library
Cornell University
Ithaca NY 14853
607-255-3530
607-255-9524 (Fax)