Glamour of the Gods: Photographs from the John Kobal FoundationA treat for fans and scholars alike, Glamour of the Gods is a massive survey of Hollywood photo-portraiture from the industry's golden age--1920-1960. All photographs are drawn from the extraordinary archive of the John Kobal Foundation in London. John Kobal was the last century's preeminent authority on Hollywood photography, as well as the first collector (and later author) to recognize photography's decisive role in creating and marketing Hollywood stars. Studio portraits and film stills contributed greatly to the glamour of the film industry in this period, especially in the heyday of the studio system (1920-1950). It was these images, as much the films they publicized, that transformed actors and actresses into international style icons. Kobal was among the first to recognize that fact, and he amassed images with such fervor that his archive, the basis of the foundation that bears his name, is now one of the world's top resources for Hollywood portraiture. Greta Garbo, Marlon Brando, Marlene Dietrich, Humphrey Bogart, Grace Kelly and Rita Hayworth are among the famous faces featured herein, styled in dramatic black-and-white by such photographers as Clarence Sinclair Bull, George Hurrell, Laszlo Willinger, Ted Allan and E.R. Richee. In many cases these are the career-defining images of their era. All of the photographs are from the archive's original vintage prints. In addition, film historian Robert Dance offers a lucid overview of the still/portrait photographer's place in the Hollywood studio system, and of John Kobal's place in Hollywood history. Critic and historian John Russell Taylor's introduction draws on his many years of friendship with Kobal. |
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Glamour of the Gods: Photographs from the John Kobal Foundation Robert Dance No preview available - 2011 |
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20th Century Fox A.L. WHITEY actress ALEX KAHLE Angeles Ava Gardner Beaton became Ben-Hur BERTRAM BUDDY Bette Davis Bob Coburn Bull's camera career Carole Lombard Cinema Clara Bow CLARENCE SINCLAIR BULL Clark Gable Columbia Pictures decade Don English Elizabeth Taylor ERNEST BACHRACH EUGENE ROBERT RICHEE fans favourite Frank Powolny Gary Cooper GEORGE HURRELL Gloria Swanson Greta Garbo hired Hollywood Hollywood photographers Hollywood Portrait Photographers Hurrell's Ibid images Ingrid Bergman interview Jean Harlow Joan Crawford John Engstead John Kobal John Russell Taylor John's Katharine Hepburn Kobal Collection Kornman Laszlo Willinger London Longworth Louise's Mae West Marilyn Monroe Marlene Dietrich MGM's Otto Dyar Paramount Pictures portrait gallery portrait studio Ray Jones Rita Hayworth ROBERT COBURN RUSSELL BALL Ruth Harriet Louise shooting Shot Garbo star portraits stills photographers STRUSS studio photographers TED ALLAN told Kobal took UNIDENTIFIED MGM PHOTOGRAPHER Vivien Leigh Warhol Warner Brothers William Walling wrote Kobal York