Synopses & Reviews
George Hurrell (1904and#150;1992) was the creator of the Hollywood glamour portrait, the maverick artist who captured movie stars of the most exalted era in Hollywood history with bold contrast and seductive poses. This lavishly illustrated book spans Hurrelland#8217;s entire career, from his beginnings as a society photographer to his finale as the celebrity photographer who was himself a celebrity, and a living legend.
From 1929 to 1944 Hurrell was the and#147;Rembrandt of Hollywood,and#8221; creating portraits of Marlene Dietrich, Norma Shearer, Bette Davis, Carole Lombard, and Joan Crawford that were a blend of the ethereal and the erotic. His photos of Jane Russell sulking in a haystack made the unknown girl a starand#151;without a film credit to her name. He immortalized leading males stars of the day from the Barrymores to Clark Gable and Gary Cooper. Latter photo shoots magnified the glamour of the likes of Warren Beatty and Sharon Stone.
Through newly acquired photos and in-depth research, photographer and historian Mark A. Vieira, author of Hurrelland#8217;s Hollywood Portraits, offers not only a wealth of new images but a compelling sequel to the story presented in his earlier book on Hurrell. Hurrell was himself a starand#151;rich, famous, successful. Then, at the height of his career, he suffered a vertiginous fall from grace. George Hurrelland#8217;s Hollywood recounts, for the first time anywhere, Hurrelland#8217;s rise from the ashesand#151;how movie-still collectors and art dealers pulled the elderly artist into a nefarious world of theft and fraud; how his undiminished powers gave him a second career; and how his mercurial nature nearly destroyed it.
The photographs that motivate this tale are luminous, powerful, and timeless. This book showcases more than four hundred, most of which have not been published since they were created. George Hurrelland#8217;s Hollywood is the ultimate work on this trailblazing artist, a fabulous montage of fact and anecdote, light and shadow.
Review
Years ago, writer-photographer Mark A. Vieira wrote and compiled a handsome book called Hurrelland#8217;s Hollywood Portraits.This enormous and elegant volume supersedes it, not only in the quantity and quality of photographs it presents, but in Vieiraand#8217;s candid text, which expands on his earlier work and delves into the second part of Hurrelland#8217;s life... I think itand#8217;s fair to refer to this exquisite tome as definitive.
- Leonard Maltin
and#147;A stunning collection of Hollywood portraits by George Hurrell, accompanied by an exploration of his life and career.and#8221;
- Shelf Awareness
Synopsis
Fabulous montage of new insights, new portraits, and behind-the-scenes stories spanning Hurrell's entire career.
Synopsis
George Hurrell is widely considered the master of the Hollywood glamour portrait, who photographed every star from Greta Garbo to Humphrey Bogart to Sharon Stone. Written by historian and former Hurrell apprentice Mark A. Vieira, George Hurrells Hollywood is the definitive retrospective, featuring new insights, rare and never-before-published portraits, and behind-the-scenes stories, spanning Hurrells entire career from his beginnings as a Los Angeles society photographer to his finale as the celebrity photographer who became a celebrity himself.
Hundreds of pristine images across six decades that include Mary Pickford, Joan Crawford, Lon Chaney, Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Marlene Dietrich, Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Liza Minnelli, Natalie Wood, John Travolta, Diana Ross, Raquel Welch, Sharon Stone, Warren Beatty, and many more, showcase the photographers work with Hollywood icons from 1925 to 1992. The text recounts the artists life, from his childhood to the heyday of his career as a star maker, through the previously untold stories of his fall from grace and eventual comeback.
About the Author
Mark A. Vieira is a writer, historian, and photographer with over forty years of experience working in Hollywood. He makes portraits using the George Hurrell technique. Mark has lectured at USC, UCLA, Lincoln Center, Universal Studios, the Hollywood Heritage Museum, and the Palm Springs Film Festival. He has appeared in documentaries such as TCMand#8217;s
Moguls and Movie Stars and Playboyand#8217;s
Sex at 24 Frames Per Second. Mark is also the author of several books, including
The Making of Some Like It Hot (with Tony Curtis),
Greta Garbo: A Cinematic Legacy, and
Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood.