Background
George Hurrell was born on June 1, 1904 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.
(A collection of the dramatic portraits that the well-know...)
A collection of the dramatic portraits that the well-known, and then sought-after, photographer took of Hollywood's greatest stars features shots of Dietrich, Garbo, Hepburn, Harlow, Gable, Tracy, Cooper, Harlow, Hayworth, Redford, and others.
https://www.amazon.com/Hurrell-Hollywood-Photographs-1928-1990-George/dp/0312082207/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=George+Hurrell&qid=1583995594&sr=8-2
1994
George Hurrell was born on June 1, 1904 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.
George Hurrell originally studied as a painter with no particular interest in photography. He first began to use photography only as a medium for recording his paintings. After moving to Laguna Beach, California from Chicago, Illinois in 1925 he met many other painters who had connections. One of those connections was Edward Steichen who encouraged him to pursue photography after seeing some of his works. George Hurrell also found that photography was a more reliable source of income than painting. He was an apprentice to Eugene Hutchinson. His photography was encouraged by his friend aviator Pancho Barnes, who often posed for him.
George Hurrell attended the Chicago Art Institute in 1920.
In the late 1920s, George Hurrell was introduced to the actor Ramon Novarro, by Pancho Barnes, and agreed to take a series of photographs of him. Novarro was impressed with the results and showed them to the actress Norma Shearer, who was attempting to mould her wholesome image into something more glamorous and sophisticated in an attempt to land the title role in the movie The Divorcee. She asked George Hurrell to photograph her in poses more provocative than her fans had seen before. After she showed these photographs to her husband, MGM production chief Irving Thalberg, Thalberg was so impressed that he signed George Hurrell to a contract with MGM Studios, making him head of the portrait photography department. But in 1932, Hurrell left MGM after differences with their publicity head, and from then on until 1938 ran his own studio at 8706 Sunset Boulevard.
In the early 1940s George Hurrell moved to Warner Brothers Studios photographing, among others Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Ida Lupino, Alexis Smith, Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney. Later in the decade he moved to Columbia Pictures where his photographs were used to help the studio build the career of Rita Hayworth.
George Hurrell left Hollywood briefly to make training films for the First Motion Picture Unit of the United States Army Air Forces. When he returned to Hollywood in the mid-1950s his old style of glamour had fallen from favour. Where he had worked hard to create an idealised image of his subjects, the new style of Hollywood glamour was more earthy and gritty, and for the first time in his career Hurrell's style was not in demand. George Hurrell moved to New York and worked for the advertising industry where glamour was still valued. He continued his work for fashion magazines and photographed for print advertisements for several years before returning to Hollywood in the 1960s.
George Hurrell died from complications from bladder cancer. He died on May 17, 1992.
(A collection of the dramatic portraits that the well-know...)
1994