Hollywood Glamour Immortalized: Movie Studio Portraits from the 1930s

September 5 – November 21, 2015

Rotunda Gallery

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George Hurrell (American, 1904-1992) is known as the king of the Hollywood glamour portrait, having photographed the Hollywood legends of the 1930s and 1940s and making the stars immortal. He captured the quintessential look of each sitter through lighting and posing, the two truly creative aspects of portrait photography. He was an innovator with his 8 x 10 view camera, using sharp-focus and boom lights that were widely imitated by his colleagues. He created iconic images of Hollywood elite and furthered the careers of many, yet Hurrell’s work wasn’t recognized as fine art until the 1960s with his first museum appearance in the exhibition Glamour Poses at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1965.

Several of Hurrell’s portraits are on view with photographs by Philippe Halsman (Latvian, 1906-1979) in the exhibition, Hollywood Glamour Immortalized: Movie Studio Portraits from the 1930s-1960s.  The exhibition is presented in conjunction with this year’s theme, Rivera Rendezvous, for the Art Museum’s annual fundraising gala held on October 24, 2015.

 

Images:

 

(Left) Philippe Halsman (American, 1906-1979), Bert Parks 1950, gelatin silver print, 11-15/16 x 9-11/16 inches, gift of Hobson and Joan Harrel - Denton, Texas, 1983.73.9

(Right) Philippe Halsman (American, 1906-1979), Imogene Coca, 1950, gelatin silver print, 13-11/16 x 10-3/4 inches, gift of Hobson and Joan Harrel - Denton, Texas, 1983.73.2