Fashion Photographer Bob Richardson Dies At 77

Bob Richardson, who brought drama and sexuality to fashion photography in the 1960s only to end up homeless and battling schizophrenia decades later, died Dec. 5 in Manhattan. He was 77.

Richardson's death, said to be of natural causes, was confirmed by the assistant to his son, photographer Terry Richardson.

Bob Richardson incorporated sex, drugs and violence into his photos, reflecting a turbulent period in history and creating images that were more about people than about fashion. He was one of a generation of photographers who changed the look of fashion photography in the 1960s, along with Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Lillian Bassman, David Bailey and others. Richardson is credited with influencing such photographers as Peter Lindbergh, Bruce Weber and Steven Meisel.

Richardson grew up on Long Island in Rockville Centre, N.Y., and studied at the Parsons School of Design and the Pratt Institute without graduating, according to a Dec. 12 obituary in The New York Times. He began taking pictures in the 1950s and landed his first commission with Harper's Bazaar in 1963.

Richardson, who suffered from mental illness throughout his life, developed a reputation as a rebellious artist who fought with editors and stylists.

In a 1997 interview with PDN, Richardson said, "I don't know why you'd want to be labeled anything else but a rebel. The opposite of a rebel is a coward, and believe me, I've worked with a lot of cowards."

In a 1999 profile in The (Manchester, U.K.) Guardian, Richardson discussed his schizophrenia and use of drugs and alcohol that led to him to all but disappear in the 1980s.

"I was diagnosed at 21. It could have destroyed my career, and my life. But I tried to hide the fact because I wanted to work," Richardson said.

He spent years drifting around California. But Richardson returned to photography in the 1990s after fans, notably British art historian Martin Harrison, worked to restore his reputation. Harrison tracked Richardson down at a cheap hotel in San Francisco in 1989.

Richardson then landed assignments for Marie Claire, GQ, Harpers Bazaar, Big and other magazines. But in interviews he gave in the 1990s, Richardson had bitter words for editors.

"American magazines are cowards," he told PDN in 1997. "People like Liz Tilberis [of Harper's Bazaar] and Anna Wintour [of Vogue] should be ashamed of themselves. Most of the stuff they put out is shit. New York has definitely succeeded in raising mediocrity to an art form. It's ridiculous. In Europe I'm considered a genius; in New York I'm nobody."

Richardson was married several times and had two children, Margaret and Terry, according to The New York Times.

Terry Richardson, who has probably eclipsed the fame of his father with his own sexually charged fashion photos, told The Times he hopes to finish a book his father started before he died.