The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., presents portraits from Hollywood's golden age by George Hurrell, one of MGM's first set photographers.
Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Jean Harlow, John Barrymore, Spencer Tracy, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, James Wong Howe... He immortalized the greats of Hollywood's golden age. His name is George Hurrell (1904-1992), and this is what the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington invite us to discover through "Star Power", a selection of recently acquired portraits from the 1930s and 1940s. This Cincinnati native was one of the main purveyors of the glamour and aura of celebrity that shaped early Hollywood. " Bring out the best, hide the worst and leave something to the imagination. " This was the motto of the man who, at the age of 25, was hired as a set photographer in the publicity department of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
AT THE PEAK OF GLORY
By 1930, the studio, founded six years earlier, was already boasting "more stars than heaven", as Ann M. Shumard, Senior Curator of Photographs, recalls. " Hollywood's promotional machine owes much of its success to the endless stream of portraits produced by the major studios' in-house photographers. "
George Hurrell's pieces of photographic art, displayed on the picture rails of the National Portrait Gallery, thus fueled public interest at every film release, capturing the brilliance of the icons of the seventh art. For two decades, this pioneer reigned supreme.
Between artistic poses, innovative lighting effects, compositional games and subtle retouching, he influenced the standards of beauty and glamour, developing his own style that defined the public image of each star. " There was drama and love every day ," he explained at the time, adding: " The stars had electric faces, electric personalities. They were really glamorous people, and that was the image I wanted to give. "
FROM MAJORS TO INDEPENDENCE
In 1933, however, George Hurrell decided to open his own studio on Sunset Boulevard, fed up with MGM's directives to constantly alter images. His independence enabled him to regain his freedom and work with other companies, without exclusivity, until 1938.
He then worked briefly as a cinematographer for Warner Bros. before signing a contract with Columbia in 1942, with its new studio on Rodeo Drive. During the Second World War, enlisted in the Air Force, he worked with a military film production unit, shooting portraits of generals at the Pentagon.
In the meantime, antitrust rulings reduced the studios' control over stars' names, physical appearance and image. In the mid-twentieth century, television in the home challenged the big screen, as snapshots replaced large-format studio portraits. For George Hurrell, the "golden age" was over. However, the influence of this trailblazer extended far beyond the Hollywood sphere.
" STAR POWER: PHOTOGRAPHS FROM HOLLYWOOD'S GOLDEN AGE"
NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
8TH AND G STREETS NW, WASHINGTON, D.C. (USA)
UNTIL JANUARY 4, 2026
NPG.SI.EDU
