Vanity Fair Portraits in LA October 2008 to March 2009

[Snowflake]

Never to early to plan a visit to LACMA, right?

Ya'll know I love classic photographs and what could be better than a mixture of Steichen, Lebowitz, Baron Adolf DeMeyer, Hurrell and many more.

397
One of my favorite shots of Gloria Swanson by Steichen
(Yes, I just ordered this catalogue, must have)

398
Josephine Baker by George Hoyningen-Huene

399
Connery and Caine by O'Neill

Vanity Fair Portraits traces the cultural history of twentieth century portrait photography and celebrates the acknowledged masters of this great art form, from Edward Steichen and Cecil Beaton to Annie Leibovitz and Mario Testino. The catalogue sets out the two eras of Vanity Fair's life. The first period from 1913 to 1936 covers subjects drawn from art, dance, music, film and architecture including personalities such as Pablo Picasso, Fred and Adele Astaire, Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. The second period-from the reincarnation of the magazine in 1983 up to the present day-includes stars of film and theatre as well as writers, athletes, style icons, and business titans with portraits of Robert De Niro, Arthur Miller, Demi Moore, Margaret Thatcher and Lance Armstrong amongst many others.

Link (http://www.npg.org.uk/vanityfair/index.htm) to the National Portrait Gallery Exhibition

Later this year it will move to California, where it will appear at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from October 26, 2008, to March 1, 2009.

[innerSpaceman]

Swanking!!

[Not Afraid]

Fantastic! I have to say that, since visiting the National Portrait Gallery I've been really impressed with their shows. I can't wait to this one to come to LACMA.

[Snowflake]

Fantastic! I have to say that, since visiting the National Portrait Gallery I've been really impressed with their shows. I can't wait to this one to come to LACMA.

and iSm said
Swanking!!

When the time comes, count me in! Besides, I've not been to LACMA in years..........

[Alex]

I assume that first one was part of an examination of what it would be like to have a major celebrity living in your couch?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Speaking of LACMA, they've just opened a brand new contemporary art facility, BCAM. So this makes 2 LACMA swanking that need to be planned.

[Kevy Baby]

Swanking!!Spanking!!

[Sohrshah]

Sweet!

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

I love portraits and am eager to see what the Broads have done with their play money. Whoo!

[Chernabog]

This does sound like a cool thing to do later this year :)

[€uroMeinke]

oh this one's a definite swanking (or two) I think we may put our LACMA AP to good use this year

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Wonder if the Lohan pics will be there. ;)

[€uroMeinke]

Were they in Vanity Fair?

[Not Afraid]

We went to see this exhibit on Sunday and really enjoyed it. I didn't know that VF had a hiatus for 44 years (it collapsed during the depression and was revived in the 1980's). I really enjoyed the photographs from the first incarnation of the magazine. They employed fantastic (and famous) photographers to populate their pages with intriguing portraits of notable contemporary figures. The portraits from the 2nd incarnation of the magazine were interesting as well, but didn't hold the fascination that the earlier photographs did - quite possibly due to the fact that I had seem many of them before as I have subscribed to VF for a while.

Many of the photographers from the early years are now well-known, respected and collected names in the art world and included in the Getty's fantastic photography collection. That lead to a discussion about the increasingly blurred lines between "high art" and pop culture (and "craft" got thrown in for good measure). For me, having worked in the art world (as well as having studied Art History) it is fascinating how the concept of art has changed in just the past 20 years.

We also attempted to see the Arts and Craft exhibition, only to find that it consisted of one small room full of items and the room was blocked off and dark. It's not something I am going to make a special trip back to see. The other exhibit that we didn't get a chance to see 9and will have to make another trip for) is the Two Germanys exhibition which looks like something worth perusing.

For the LashPair (and other interested in Hearst) they just completed an exhibition of Hearst the Collector and there was a nice book published to go with the exhibition.

Now we need to find another date in the near future to visit again.

[€uroMeinke]

Loved the Vanity Fair portraits and found it gave me the dual feelings of inspiration and melancholy most good shows do. I love the early works, the before the war years of ex-pat artists in France, photographs by Man Ray, it's sad the magazine didn't continue to capture the art exodus to New York and the founding of that Art Mecca. Made me long for living the Anais Nin, Henry Miller life, getting by by witting porn between gigs for magazines like Vanity Fair

I also loved the new pics from 1983 on. I loved seeing the evolution of photography. Yes they it had become a more self-conscious art form, but it moved beyond being documentary to something almost cinematic, especially when seeing the elaborate tableaux of Annie Lebovitz, and her celebrity pantheons.

In any event, I'm ready o start lurking among the artists and ex pats sending occasional dispatches between loosing myself in their bohemian decadence.