- George Hurrell
George Hurrell (
June 1 , 1904 -May 17 , 1992) was aphotographer who made a significant contribution to the image of glamour presented byHollywood during the 1930s and 1940s.Early life
Born in
Covington, Kentucky , Hurrell originally studied as a painter with no particular interest in photography. He first began to use photography only as a medium for recording his paintings. After moving toLaguna Beach, California fromChicago, Illinois in 1925 he found that photography was a more reliable source of income than painting. [Postrel, Virginia: "Starlight and Shadow", "The Atlantic" July/August 2009, P148.] His photography was encouraged by his friend aviatrixPancho Barnes , who often posed for him. He eventually opened a photographic studio in Los Angeles. [Postrel, Virginia: "Starlight and Shadow", "The Atlantic" July/August 2009, P148.]Career In Hollywood
In the late 1920s, Hurrell was introduced to the actor
Ramon Novarro , byPancho Barnes , and agreed to take a series of photographs of him. [Postrel, Virginia: "Starlight and Shadow", "The Atlantic" July/August 2009, P148.] Novarro was impressed with the results and showed them to the actressNorma Shearer who was attempting to mould her wholesome image into something more glamorous and sophisticated in an attempt to land the title role in the movieThe Divorcee . [Postrel, Virginia: "Starlight and Shadow", "The Atlantic" July/August 2009, P148.] She asked Hurrell to photograph her in poses more provocative than her fans had seen before. After she showed these photographs to her husband, MGM production chiefIrving Thalberg , Thalberg was so impressed that he signed Hurrell to a contract with MGM Studios, making him head of the portrait photography department.Over the next decade, Hurrell photographed every star contracted to MGM, and his striking black-and-white images were used extensively in the marketing of these stars. Among the performers regularly photographed by him during these years were silent screen star Dorothy Jordan, as well as
Myrna Loy , Robert Montgomery,Jean Harlow ,Joan Crawford ,Clark Gable ,Carole Lombard andNorma Shearer , who was said to have refused to allow herself to be photographed by anyone else. He also photographedGreta Garbo at a session to produce promotional material for the movie Romance. The session didn't go well and she never used him again. [Postrel, Virginia: "Starlight and Shadow", "The Atlantic" July/August 2009, P150.]In the early 1940s Hurrell moved to Warner Brothers Studios photographing, among others
Bette Davis ,Ann Sheridan ,Errol Flynn ,Maxine Fife ,Humphrey Bogart andJames Cagney . Later in the decade he moved toColumbia Pictures where his photographs were used to help the studio build the career ofRita Hayworth .Postwar
He left Hollywood briefly to make training films for the
United States Army . When he returned to Hollywood in the mid 1950s his old style of glamour had fallen from favour. Where he had worked hard to create an idealised image of his subjects, the new style of glamour was more earthy and gritty, and for the first time in his career Hurrell was not seen as an innovator. He moved to New York where he worked forfashion magazines and photographed foradvertisements before returning to Hollywood in the 1960s.Renaissance
An exhibition of his work at the
Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1965 caused a revival of interest, and he continued to work sporadically. By the 1970s he was photographing such celebrities asRaquel Welch ,Farrah Fawcett andJohn Travolta . He officially retired in 1976 but would still take photographs if he was particularly interested in the subject.Sharon Stone andBrooke Shields were two stars he felt conveyed the type of glamour he enjoyed photographing, and they posed for him several times during the 1980s . In 1984 whenJoan Collins was asked to pose for "Playboy" at the age of 50 she insisted that the only photographer she would accept was Hurrell, he photographed Collins in a nude 12 page layout and the issue became a bestseller. Among his last works were production stills featuringWarren Beatty andAnnette Bening for the film "Bugsy " and the cover artwork for theNatalie Cole album "Unforgettable... with Love ". In 1992, during the making of a documentary about his career, he took a series of photographs of actorsSherilyn Fenn ,Sharon Stone ,Julian Sands ,Raquel Welch ,Eric Roberts andSean Penn . In these portraits he recreated his style of the 1930s, with these actors posing in costumes, hairstyle and makeup of the period.Death
Hurrell died shortly after completing the documentary from complications from his long standing problem with bladder
cancer . When his doctors delivered the message to him that he had perhaps only a day left to live, he replied, "Well, the party is over. Time to go home." He died on May 17, 1992.Since his death, his works have appreciated in value and are highly sought after as fine art by collectors.
ee also
*
The Works (Queen album) Notes
External links
* [http://www.hurrellphotography.com/ The Hollywood Photography of George Hurrell]
* [http://silverscreensirens.com/ghurrell2.htm George Hurrell Gallery]
* [http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=browse&dept=photo&method=artist&searchtype=2&term=Hurrell%2C%20George%20%28Artist%29 The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)] has 60 thumbnails of their collection.
* [http://www.panchobarnes.com/ Pancho Barnes and George Hurrell]
* [http://www.mptv.net Search and View Extensive Collection of Hurrell Images at MPTV.net ]
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