The great Herb Ritts stumbled into photography when, on something of a lark, he shot his aspiring-actor friend and soon-to-be global beefcake Richard Gere. Those photos went viral for their time, the early ’80s, simultaneously launching Ritts’ career. He soon began doing what he’s most known for, immortalizing supes, musicians, and celebs in artful and often bare repose. (Funny story: he played matchmaker for Gere and that original ’90s supermodel, Cindy Crawford, introducing them at a BBQ at his mother’s house.)

Now, a new exhibit at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts showcases many of these modern classics. It’s intended to be a posthumous revisit (he died in 2002) of his 1996 exhibition, WORK, a mini-blockbuster for the museum. The Ritts Foundation provided a print of every image in that retrospective and later, in 2007, supported the museum’s first gallery dedicated to photography, which will of course house the new show.

Herb Ritts, March 14 – November 8, 2015, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

Jump, Paradise Cove © Herb Ritts Foundation

Madonna © Herb Ritts Foundation

Male Nude, Paradise Cove © Herb Ritts Foundation

Richard Gere © Herb Ritts Foundation

Jack Nicholson © Herb Ritts Foundation

Masai Woman and Child © Herb Ritts Foundation

Tatjana with Veiled Head © Herb Ritts Foundation

Sinead O’Connor © Herb Ritts Foundation

William S. Burroughs © Herb Ritts Foundation

Dustin Hoffman as Salvador Dali © Herb Ritts Foundation

Nandoye & Nangini, Hands Joined, Africa © Herb Ritts Foundation