Description:

Michael Roberts
British, (1948-2023)
standing male partial nude, 1989
mounted silver gelatin print
Signed and dated verso, edition 1/25.

From Vogue.co.uk: Michael Roberts was a writer, editor, stylist and photographer best known for his influential tenures as the fashion and style director of Vanity Fair magazine and the fashion editor of the New Yorker.

Born in Buckinghamshire in 1948 to a father from St Lucia and an English mother, Roberts's unconventional education began when he was sent off to boarding school after his father died in 1960. He then moved on to study fine art and graphic design at an art school in High Wycombe, before eventually transferring to the fashion department. While still at college, he won an illustration prize sponsored by an advertising agency that allowed him to travel to New York, where he met Andy Warhol and Richard Avedon, and had his work published for the first time in Women's Wear Daily.

Roberts also began venturing further into photography and filmmaking, notably directing the music video for Bryan Ferry's 1988 single "Limbo", winning himself an MTV Award for best breakthrough video.

His greatest passion throughout the 1990s and 2000s was his illustration books. His debut, The Jungle ABC, was published in 1998 with a foreword by Iman: featuring graphic, colourful cutout collages, it presented the alphabet as brought to life by the flora and fauna of Africa, with Roberts stating that it was intended for both children and adults. His fifth book, Fashion Victims: The Catty Catalogue of Stylish Casualties, From A to Z, was published in 2011 as a delightfully pithy, tongue-in-cheek ribbing of the industry he knew so well.

More recently, Roberts's projects included writing the introduction for his close friend and collaborator Grace Coddington's 2016 book with Phaidon, Grace, and directing the 2017 documentary Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards, about the life story and creative journey of the shoe designer Manolo Blahnik. As a follow-up to his 2007 book Shot in Sicily – a photographic document of the Italian island which he first visited in 1987, and where he settled permanently in 2019 – he released his final book Island of Eternal Beauties last year as a love letter to a place that became his home. In keeping with his restless spirit, it even featured an entirely new creative venture for Roberts: mosaics.

In 2022, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to fashion as part of the Queen's New Year Honours.

By Liam Hess, 4 April 2023

  • Dimensions: 21 1/4"H x 18"W (Mat)
  • Medium: mounted silver gelatin print

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