Original Art from the Grand Age of American Illustration
The smoldering temper, and exotic sensuality of Lili Damita attracted as much attention in pre-code Hollywood as her films, and this Greta Garbo inspired photograph by Elmer Fryer captures her unusual attractions. This large format, double weight sepia gallery portrait features the French beauty in ornate art deco headdress, and displays Fryer’s sophisticated eye.
Artist: Elmer Fryer
This art deco stylized hatted view of Judy Garland was kept in the actress’s personal collection until her death. A charming portrait that showcases the joyful innocence which was essential to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s presentation of the icon (but which ran directly counter to her haunted personal life). This double weight, large format gallery portrait is a rarely seen still, and celebrates the style of the late 1930s as well as the unusual beauty of Garland.
Artist: Unknown
Paramount pictures glamour photographer Otto Dyar captures pre-code starlet Adrienne Ames at her most glamorous in this large format, art deco gallery portrait. The press snipe on the verso evokes the sophistication with which Ames was identified, and the fashion icon as which she was known. “Brown and tomato red creates the striking color combination of this rough crepe street frock worn by Adrienne Ames in “From Hell to Heaven”, a Paramount pictures.”
Artist: Otto Dyar
Hedy Lamarr, Hollywood’s icon of glamour and style, is radiant in this large format, rare gallery still created as a promotional portrait for her 1944 starring turn in “The Heavenly Body.” These double weight, oversized stills were never intended for public consumption and are rare and coveted today as the apex of Hollywood fine art glamour photography. Stunning with its deep black and dramatic style, this also features advertising press snipe on verso as seen.
Artist: Unknown
Before her tenure as the reigning queen of Hollywood society, and her long-standing position as mistress of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, Marion Davies was among the most beautiful of Florence Ziegfeld’s glorified American girls. Here, she is shown in lavish showgirl costuming, an ethereal beauty in soft focus view by Campbell studio. This double weight gallery portrait is blindstamped by photographer lower right.
Artist: Campbell Studios
In 1929 Myrna Loy was an unknown actress and dancer in Hollywood, attracting attention for her darkly exotic beauty and sophisticated hard edged acting. This photograph, from the lavish Vitaphone early talkie “Show of Shows” features Loy in an orientalist jazz age view by Fred R Archer that predicts her iconic turn in The Mask of Fu Manchu. This is an exceedingly rare and beautiful view of the Hollywood icon.
Artist: Fred Archer
The instantly iconic profile of Gloria Swanson is foregrounded in this romantic and highly art deco photograph of the queen of silent film, from her 1929 vehicle The Trespasser. In refined flapper pose, against abstracted picture window, Swanson defines the roaring ’20s with all of its sexuality and culture. The still features heavily notated verso with Spanish language text and archival numbering.
Artist: Unknown
Ruth Chatterton is remembered as one of the most sophisticated beauties of the pre-code era of American film, and her refined and often chilly beauty is showcased wonderfully in this evocative portrait by the renowned Russell Ball. Signed in grease pencil by the photographer, this large format, marginless print was created for Chatterton’s personal collection, and this was printed by Ball himself and captures the spirit of subject, artist, and the art deco moment in which it was created.
Artist: Russell Ball
The relationship between Greta Garbo and photographer Clarence Sinclair Bull is perhaps the most storied pairing in the star system of Golden Age Hollywood. Only Bull could coax the immortally sensual and iconic images that defined Garbo from the notoriously shy and reserved star. In this portrait from the 1934 film The Painted Veil, Garbo is seen in profile, with the luscious light and shadow for which the photographer was known.
Artist: Clarence Sinclair Bull
Shortly after cementing her reputation as a rising ingenue in Hollywood with the role of Wendy in Peter Pan, Mary Brian became one of the most in-demand heroines of the silent film era. In this sweetly romantic, yet sophisticated portrait of the beauty queen, Eugene Robert Richee, the Paramount Pictures studio photographer (best known for his portraits of Louise Brooks) showcases her complex allure.
Artist: Eugene Robert Richee
