Thursday, August 4, 2011

London - Hollywood celebrity portraits at the National Portrait Gallery


London's National Portrait Gallery pays tribute to that period when Hollywood film studios controlled the public's perception of their actors and actresses through the use of in-house portrait photographers. The show "Glamour of the Gods: Hollywood Portraits," is an exhibition of 70 vintage photographs from 1920 to 1960, and is currently on  view until October 23.

Most of the prints come from the archive of the John Kobal Foundation, founded by the collector who began tracking down the photographers behind the glossy images in the 1950s and '60s, just as corporate takeovers of the big Hollywood studios began phasing out the promotional practice.
He continued to collect the photos until his death in 1991.

The photograph:
Elizabeth Taylor, 1948, by Clarence Sinclair Bull

And more here: http://www.npg.org.uk/glamour/index.htm

No comments: