Hollywood Portraits at National Portrait Gallery
When
07 July 2011 -
23 October 2011
10am - 6pm, til 9pm Thurs&Fri
Where
National Portrait Gallery, The
Cost
£5.00-£6.00
Age Restrictions
n/a
A selection of Hollywood portraits at National Portrait Gallery go on show this summer as the gallery examines the importance of photos in creating the Hollywood stars of the 1920s onwards.
Hollywood portraits at National Portrait Gallery
Entitled Glamour of the Gods, the exhibition of Hollywood portraits includes a selection of pictures of the most famous faces on screen and stage from an era that thrived on turning actors and actresses into celebrities. Marlene Dietrich, James Dean, Joan Collins, Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe are just some of the portraits included in the show that are instantly recognisable around the world.
Movie stars
Showcasing iconic and several previously unseen studio portraits, this exhibition highlights the ways in which the Hollywood stars were used as marketing tools for their forthcoming films, with photos being used in lobby cards and posters, many of which had to be strong enough to catch the attention of potential cinema goers with just one viewing. Shown alongside the Hollywood portraits at National Portrait Gallery, visitors can see various film stills from the kind of movies these images were used to promote, to give an idea of the way in which a Hollywood studio system worked.
Famous photographers
The majority of the photos included in the exhibition of Hollywood portraits at National Portrait Gallery come from the John Kobal Foundation, which was established in the 1950s when he began collecting film photos in Los Angeles. Having tracked down many of the surviving greats, he highlighted their work through a series of exhibitions and books, giving then the acclaim the was never afforded to them at the time. On show in the exhibition are works by the likes of Davis Boulton, one of the few British photographers working in a distinctly American institution, Ruth Harriet Louise, who was the only woman to run a studio gallery, and Clarence Sinclari Bull, who famously built up a working relationship with Greta Garbo.
Glamour of the Gods
As this was a time before paparazzi, the images of the Hollywood stars were generally the only connection between the actors and their fans, meaning their photos were an extremely valuable commodity. As such many of the images, which portrayed the actors as glamorous gods and goddesses, were labelled copyright free, to enable the studios to reproduce the images as widely as possible. This lack of crediting resulted in many now acclaimed photographers being denied the success of their career defining shots of the time.
Glamour of the Gods, the exhibition of Hollywood portraits at National Portrait Gallery, takes place from Thursday 7th July - Sunday 23rd October 2011. For more information or to book tickets, click on the link below or call 0844 248 5033.
National Portrait Gallery Official Site
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