Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe

James Crump’s excellent ‘Black, White and Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe’ is a beautiful and tender glance at the life of blue-blood art collector Sam Wagstaff and his influence on photographer (and lover) Robert Mapplethorpe. Wagstaff was a champion of all kinds of esoteric art forms but here most attention is reserved for his immense collection of photography, which he later sold to the Getty Museum. Crump’s film colourfully depicts Wagstaff’s complex inner mindset and rarefied eye for imagery by allowing the stunning prints to linger on the screen.