LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.- The Herb Ritts Foundation, formed by the late glamour photographer who died of AIDS at age 50 in 2002, is preparing itself to begin operations . Plans call for support to AIDS research and health organizations as well as aid for museum exhibitions of photography and scholarships for study of the field. Chairman of the board and president of the foundation is Mark McKenna, Ritts’ former business manager. The foundation has numerous artworks, over 500 editioned photos by Ritts, and plans to issue no posthumous prints.

The Herb Ritts Foundation’s initial mandates will focus on two areas of great passion and immense importance to Herb Ritts. The first mandate will be to continue his support for medical reserach in the HIV / AIDS areas, as well as to provide financial support for the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR), an organization that Herb greatly supported during his lifetime. The Foundation will also help support and fund those organizations that provide assistance and care for individuals with HIV and AIDS. It is equally important for the Foundation to advocate continued awareness of AIDS and its devastating impact on all continents, with an emphasis on how we can all contribute to finding a cure for this disease.

The Foundation’s second mandate will be to support Herb’s great passion for photography and other forms of art. We will offer assistance to institutions that have education programs advancing the art of photography, and support organizations with scholarships for the study of photography as well as other forms of art. With the great success of the ’Herb Ritts: Work’ exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, he felt that it was essential to have the Foundation support future museum exhibitions of photography.

In addition to the Foundation’s charitable work, it will be responsible for maintaining Herb’s legacy by organizing exhibitions of his work, publishing books and catalogues, preserving the archive of editioned prints and maintaining the integrity of the editions established during his lifetime. The net revenue proceeds from the sales of Herb Ritts’ work will be used to support and insure the directives of the Foundation and the contributions it will make.