It was only shortly after photographer Norman Seeff moved to New York in 1968 that he captured what would become an iconic image of then unknown musician Patti Smith with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

"It was the middle of a cold, snowy winter when I met Robert and Patti at a downtown Manhattan bar," says Seeff. "I thought they looked cool and asked them to do a session with me. It was a chance meeting and I didn't know anything about either of them. But we hit it off instantaneously. The authenticity and emotional depth of their love was exactly what I was looking for in my images."

Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith in New York in 1969. Credit:Norman Seeff

Seeff photographed the then couple at a friend's apartment in the city's Upper West Side in 1969. It was early days for Seeff who would go on to photograph many of the greatest musicians and bands of the 1970s and '80s – including the Rolling Stones, the Band and Joni Mitchell.

"I found Patti absolutely fascinating, both of them really. I was thrilled with almost every shot from that session. They were both extraordinary," Seeff says, "But I think the most extraordinary aspect was the way related to each other."