HURRELL'S HOLLYWOOD PORTRAITS

 

ABOUT THE BOOK


George Edward Hurrell was a studio portrait photographer from 1930 to 1943. He was also the principal auteur of the photographic idiom known as the Hollywood glamour portrait. This is the first book to treat Hurrell's work in strict chronology, outlining five distinct periods of creative activity between 1925 and 1943. Each period is described in its own chapter, where its techniques are explained and the circumstances of its introduction are detailed.This is the first book on Hurrell to present a survey of his work using primarily vintage prints. The book also uses fresh interviews, previously unseen archival material, and discoveries made in the author's odyssey through the world of movie still collecting.

Finally, this is the first Hurrell book to be written by a working photographer. Mark Vieira has devoted his professional life to emulating the artist and is now the only photographer in America making portraits in the classic Hollywood mode, using large-format camera, incandescent lighting, and full negative retouching. He also works as an archival printer, making modern prints from 1930s nitrate negatives. It is from this background that he explains Hurrell's technical mastery and puts his work in the context of both fine art and popular culture.



HURRELL'S HOLLYWOOD PORTRAITS: The Chapman Collection
by Mark A. Vieira
Published by Harry N. Abrams
REVISED EDITION
May 15, 2006
ISBN 0810934345
Price $39.95




FEATURED IMAGES







A George Hurrell portrait of Lupe Velez made in 1933.





A George Hurrell portrait of Joan Crawford made in 1933.







ABOUT THE ARTIST

 


George Edward Hurrell
(June 1, 1904 – May 17, 1992)


From 1930 to 1943, George Hurrell was Hollywood’s premier portrait photographer. When stars like Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford gave him their fabulous faces, he immortalized them. Hurrell was not only a well-paid photographer of stars. He was also an acknowledged artist, the auteur of the Hollywood glamour portrait.

Before Hurrell’s advent, movie star portraits were soft and undistinguished, derivative of the Main Street portrait salon. Hired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1930 at the urging of a satisfied client, Norma Shearer, Hurrell threw out the conventional "soft focus," and replaced it with a sharp, dramatic look. Coupled with this spot-lit style was his ability to make his subjects feel sensuous and look godlike. Thus Hurrell introduced a bold new idiom, one in which movie stars were idealized, glamorized, and ultimately turned into icons. In a town where imitation was the sincerest form of survival, Hurrell was an original.

By 1941 his sitting fee had reached $1000—when the dollar bought eighteen times what it does now. From Los Angeles to New York, he was regarded as the foremost interpreter, if not the creator, of the Hollywood glamour portrait. At the time People and Places magazine called him "Hollywood’s favorite photographer." U. S. Camera called him "an almost legendary figure among photographers." Motion Picture proclaimed: "His name on any photograph is a guarantee of glamour. He is one of Hollywood’s few genuine geniuses. He is Rembrandt with a camera."






ABOUT HIS STUDIOS





Hurrell’s studio at 672 South La Fayette Park Place, 1927 to 1929




A 1929 Hurrell portrait of Ramon Novarro





A 1929 Hurrell portrait of Norma Shearer





Hurrell’s studio at 8706 Sunset Boulevard, 1932 to 1938




The artist and his future biographer in July 1976


 


ABOUT HIS WORK

GEORGE HURRELL: A HOLLYWOOD CHRONOLOGY
©2009 by Mark A. Vieira


June 1, 1904

George Edward Hurrell born in Covington, Kentucky.


1920

George Hurrell enrolls in the Chicago Art Institute.


1923

Hurrell hired as photographic apprentice at Eugene Hutchinson Studio.


1925

Hurrell drives to Laguna Beach, California with Edgar Alwyn Payne, arrives late May.


1927

Hurrell gives up landscape painting, opens portrait photography studio in the Granada Studios and Shoppes at 672 South La Fayette Park Place in the Westlake District of Los Angeles.


1928

August:
Hurrell does subcontract work for Edward Steichen, shoots Pasadena and Los Angeles socialites.

October 20:
Hurrell participates in the grand opening festivities of the Granada Studios and Shoppes


1929

January:
Socialite Florence "Pancho" Barnes brings film star Ramon Novarro to Hurrell for portrait sitting.

June - August:
Hurrell shoots two more sittings with Novarro.

October:
Hurrell shoots M-G-M star Norma Shearer. Her husband, Irving Thalberg, is so pleased with the proofs that he awards a plum role to his wife and offers Hurrell a job. Hurrell accepts.


1930

January 1, 1930:
Hurrell starts job as Head Portrait Photographer at M-G-M, replaces his Verito lens with M-G-M's Eastman Kodak Portrait lens.


January - March:
Johnny Mack Brown, Montana Moon
Anita Page
Robert Montgomery
Norma Shearer
Joan Crawford
Lottice Howell
Anita Page, Our Blushing Brides
Wallace Beery
Kay Johnson
Buster Keaton, Free and Easy
Raymond Hackett w/ Dorothy Janis
Lewis Stone, Strictly Unconventional
Dorothy Sebastian

April:
Lon Chaney, The Unholy Three
Ramon Novarro
Greta Garbo, Romance
Joan Crawford, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

June-August:
Hurrell invents his famous "boom light."

Subjects:
Robert Montgomery
Harriet Lake
Cliff Edwards
Leila Hyams
Marie Dressler, Min and Bill
Wallace Beery, Min and Bill
Grace Moore
Kay Francis, Passion Flower
October - December:
Marion Davies
Anita Page at home
Buster Keaton, Parlor, Bedroom, and Bath
Constance Bennett, Robert Montgomery, Adolphe Menjou, The Easiest Way
Lili Damita
Marie Dressler


1931

January - April:
Lupe Velez
John Gilbert
Anita Page
Buster Keaton
Norma Shearer, Strangers May Kiss
Edwina Booth, outdoor
Neil Hamilton
Norma Shearer, Clark Gable, A Free Soul
Gwen Lee
Robert Montgomery
Ray Milland

May - October:
Hurrell begins using Goerz Celor lens, phases out use of Eastman Kodak Portrait lens.
Subjects:
Joan Crawford, This Modern Age
Neil Hamilton
Marion Davies, It's A Wise Child
Gwen Lee
Jackie Cooper
Erin O'Brien Moore
Marjorie King
Joan Crawford at home
Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Possessed
Madge Evans
Anita Page
Kathryn Crawford, Bert Lahr, Flying High
Leila Hyams
November - December:
Ramon Novarro, Mata Hari
Norma Shearer, Private Lives
Wallace Beery
Dorothy Jordan


1932

January - March:
Joan Crawford,
Wallace Beery,
Lionel Barrymore,
John Barrymore, Grand Hotel
Una Merkel
Joan Crawford (on Mata Hari set)
Madge Evans
Wallace Ford
Alexander Kirkland
Jackie Cooper
Norma Shearer, Strange Interlude
Nils Asther
Norma Shearer,
Clark Gable, Strange Interlude
Joan Marsh
April - June:
Joan Crawford, Letty Lynton
Eric von Stroheim,
Hedda Hopper,
Melvyn Douglas, As You Desire Me
Robert Young
Jean Harlow, Red-Headed Woman
Anita Page
Thelma Todd, Speak Easily
Robert Montgomery, Letty Lynton
Karen Morley
John Gilbert, Downstairs
Leslie Howard, Smilin' Through
Jean Harlow
Myrna Loy
July:
Norma Shearer, Smilin' Through
Joan Crawford
Lilyan Tashman
Joan Bennett
July 15, 1932:
Hurrell quits M-G-M.

August:
Norma Shearer induces him to return for a special sitting, saves his Hollywood career.
Hurrell shoots Fox Film Corp. players in Westwood Gallery:
Warner Baxter, Six Hours to Live
Irene Ware, Chandu the Magician
Boots Mallory
Miriam Jordan
September:
Hurrell signs lease with Montgomery Leasing Corp. for commercial space at 8706 Sunset Boulevard, now "Hurrell Photography."
October - December:
Clients at new studio:
Lupe Velez
Norma Shearer
Sally Eilers
Laurence Olivier, A Perfect Understanding (United Artists)
Joan Crawford


1933

January - March:
Hurrell is promoted and publicized by Helen Ferguson.
Joan Crawford
Mae West
Carole Lombard
Hedda Hopper
Helen Hayes, Another Language (M-G-M)
Marian Nixon
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

April - July:
Eugenie Leontovich (for El Capitan stage production of Twentieth Century)
Helen Chandler
Myrna Loy
Sally O'Neil
Jean Harlow, Dinner At Eight
Maureen O'Sullivan, Stage Mother
Nancy Carroll

August - December:
Jean Harlow for first issue of Esquire
Norma Shearer
Madge Evans
Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Dancing Lady
Loretta Young, The House of Rothschild (Twentieth Century Pictures)
Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone (at her home)
Jean Harlow, Bombshell
Anna Sten, Nana, (Samuel Goldwyn)
Mary Pickford
Jean Harlow (at Bullock's [1])
Jeanette MacDonald, The Cat and the Fiddle
Loretta Young
Constance Bennett, Moulin Rouge
Karen Morley


1934

January - June:
Wallace Beery, Viva Villa!
Mae Clarke, This Side of Heaven
Janet Beecher, Gallant Lady
Norma Shearer, Riptide
Mary Carlisle
Constance Bennett, The Affairs of Cellini
Fay Wray
Joan Crawford, Sadie McKee
Ginger Rogers, Change of Heart
Alice Faye
Franchot Tone
Marian Nixon, The Line Up
Jean Harlow, The Girl From Missouri
Anna Sten, We Live Again
Mary Brian, A Private Scandal

July - October:
Joan Crawford, Chained
Norma Shearer, The Barretts of Wimpole Street
Jean Harlow
Paulette Goddard, Modern Times (Chaplin)
Ethel Merman, Kid Millions
Mary Pickford
Jean Parker
Robert Montgomery
Jean Harlow (home)
Norma Shearer (Irene gowns)
Jean Harlow (Vanity Fair)
Doris Kenyon
Ralph Bellamy
Joan Crawford, Forsaking All Others

November:
Hurrell takes off for New York.


1935

January - March:
Hurrell shoots portraits in New York, then goes to Mexico, shoots with columnist Ted Cook.

April - July:

Hurrell Photography continues:
Myrna Loy
Frances Dee
Joel McCrea
Merle Oberon, Dark Angel
Joan Crawford, No More Ladies
Mary Pickford (book jacket portrait: My Rendezvous with Life)
Franchot Tone
Clifton Webb
Margo
Jean Harlow, Reckless/China Seas
Shirley Temple, John Boles, The Littlest Rebel
Charles Farrell, Forbidden Heaven
Johnny Weissmuller
Jeanette MacDonald
Rosalind Russell
Joan Crawford, I Live My Life

August - September:
Hurrell working out of rented studio in Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York
October - December:
Carole Lombard (color cover for Photoplay)
Jean Harlow (at Bullock's [2])
William Powell
Gene Raymond
Nelson Eddy
Norma Shearer
Bill Robinson
Miriam Hopkins, These Three
Merle Oberon
Joel McCrea
Fritz Lang
Kitty Carlisle
Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone (home sitting)


1936

January:
Hurrell shooting with Edward Weston.

February - April:
Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, Romeo and Juliet
Simone Simon (for Twentieth Century-Fox)
Ida Lupino
Luise Rainer
Jeanette MacDonald (Color)
Rosalind Russell, Trouble For Two
Carole Lombard, The Princess Comes Across
Josephine Hutchinson
Joan Crawford, The Gorgeous Hussy
Irene Dunne, Show Boat (Universal)

May - June:
Hurrell's second trip to Mexico with Ted Cook
July - August:
Hurrell shooting in New York, makes deal with Esquire magazine for monthly "Hurrell Girl"

September - November:
Frances Dee for Esquire
Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Love On The Run
Joan Bennett (Paramount Pictures)
Madeleine Carroll (Selznick International Pictures)
Robert Taylor
Constance Bennett (Hal Roach Pictures)


1937

January - April:
Hurrell accepted into camera union, Local 659, begins writing articles for International Photographer, also shoots in gallery at Twentieth Century-Fox:
Shirley Temple
Alice Faye
Loretta Young
Tyrone Power
Warner Baxter
Ronald Colman,
Madeleine Carroll, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., The Prisoner of Zenda (Selznick)

May - June:
Hurrell shoots his last few M-G-M players before being replaced by Laszlo Willinger:
Robert Taylor
Jean Harlow, Saratoga
William Powell
Robert Montgomery
Joan Crawford, The Last of Mrs. Cheyney

Paramount:
Marlene Dietrich
Carole Lombard
Patricia Morison
Mary Carlisle
Anna May Wong
Betty Grable

July - December:
Hurrell begins shooting in Paramount gallery as well as at Hurrell Photography. His last M-G-M sitting is with Joan Crawford, for Mannequin, but done in his own gallery.
Twentieth Century-Fox:
Paul Muni
Shirley Temple, Heidi
Dolores Del Rio, Lancer Spy
Alice Faye


1938

January - June:
Hurrell shoots for all studios but M-G-M.

Jean Muir
Errol Flynn, The Adventures of Robin Hood (Warner Brothers)
Ronald Colman, If I Were King (Paramount)
Claudette Colbert, Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
Joan Bennett, The Texans
Anna May Wong, Dangerous To Know
Ram Gopal
Charles Boyer
Janet Gaynor, The Young At Heart (Selznick)
Katharine Hepburn (RKO-Radio)

July:
Hurrell signs a two-year exclusive contract with Warner Brothers, closes Hurrell Photography.
September - December:
Ann Sheridan, Angels With Dirty Faces
John Garfield
Humphrey Bogart
George Brent
James Cagney
Olivia DeHavilland
John Payne
Paul Muni
Errol Flynn,
Bette Davis, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex


1939

Warner Brothers publicity and monthly Esquire exposure make Hurrell a household word. Burbank subjects include:
Bette Davis, Dark Victory
Vera Zorina, On Your Toes
John Payne, Kid Nightingale
Ann Sheridan, The "Oomph" Campaign
Priscilla Lane,
Humphrey Bogart,
James Cagney, The Roaring Twenties
Bette Davis, Juarez
Margaret Lindsay
Olivia DeHavilland
Bette Davis,
George Brent,
Miriam Hopkins, The Old Maid
John Garfield,
Nell O'Day, Saturday's Children


1940

October:
Hurrell leaves Warner Brothers, goes to New York, rents space in Waldorf.


1941

January - June:
Hurrell returns to Hollywood, does home sitting for Joan Crawford.
Construction begins on new studio in Beverly Hills.
July - December:
Hurrell photographs "adult" Shirley Temple for Life Magazine.
Hurrell shoots for Goldwyn, Warners, Paramount, and Universal.
Bette Davis, The Little Foxes
Barbara Stanwyck,
Gary Cooper, Ball of Fire
Barbara Stanwyck, Meet John Doe
Alexis Smith
Veronica Lake, I Wanted Wings
Paulette Goddard
Betty Hutton
Hurrell is West Coast Photographic Head of Esquire magazine.
Hurrell shoots Jane Russell for Howard Hughes production, The Outlaw. (Second sitting -- with hay -- follows.)
Hurrell opens new Hurrell Photography at 333 North Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.


1942

January - June:
Maria Montez
July - October:
Hurrell works for Columbia Pictures as a contract employee, but shoots in his own studio on weekends.
Fred Astaire
Rita Hayworth
Rosalind Russell
Loretta Young
Mae West
November:
Hurrell drafted into First Motion Picture Unit of United States Army Air Force.


1943

January - February:
Hurrell photographs generals at Pentagon, makes training films at Hal Roach Studios in Culver City.
March:
Hurrell returns to Columbia Pictures Portrait Gallery.
August:
Hurrell shoots Joan Crawford's first sitting under her new contract with Warner Brothers.
October:
Hurrell finishes Columbia contract, returns to 333 North Rodeo Drive.


1944

January - March:
Hurrell acts in film The Hairy Ape. Scene later cut for time.
Hurrell shoots Joan Crawford in Adrian couture to publicize new salon.


1945

Hurrell shoots Errol Flynn.
Hurrell continues to shoot for Esquire.


1946

Hurrell shoots his thirty-third and last sitting with Joan Crawford, portraits for the Twentieth Century-Fox film, Daisy Kenyon.
Hurrell sublets his Beverly Hills studio . . .