I am greatly influenced by George Hurrell, who was Hollywood's greatest photographer. He made gorgeous and dramatic photographs of the cinema's legendary men and women at the peak of their fame.
Hurrell, who was dubbed the "Grand Seigneur of the Hollywood Portrait," was born in Covington, KY in 1904. By the time he was eight, Hurrell had developed an interest in painting and drawing. The only reason why he learned how to use a camera was so that he could photograph his paintings.
After studying at the Art Institute of Chicago, Hurrell was commissioned to photograph paintings and painters in Laguna Beach, CA, art colony in 1925. His goal in moving west was to continue his art studies. However, it did not take long before he found more work shooting portraits than painting pictures.
Hurrell, who began his career as a free-lance photographer, received as much as $1,000 for a sitting as early as 1938. He rebelled against traditional still photography and combined the warmth of the painter's art with the cold precision of the photographer's skill. His success was the function of lighting, both light and shadow. One of Hurrell's his first subjects was the famed aviatrix Poncho Barnes. Through her, he met silent-screen star Ramon Novarro, who commissioned a series of portraits from Hurrell. Novarro showed off his new photographs to associates at Metro-Goldwin-Mayer, where they caught the eye of actress Norma Shearer. Shearer was desperate to convince her husband, Irving G. Thalberg, who was production chief at MGM, that she could generate enough sex appeal to play the lead in The Divorcée. Shearer hired Hurrell to take some sizzling photos that landed her the role. Then it happened. Thalberg and Shearer were so impressed with Hurrell's work that he was hired as head of the MGM portrait gallery in 1930. Shearer also became pregnant with the couple's first child about one month after the sitting, and she later won the Academy Award for Best Actress for playing the sexpot
Hurrell with Dorothy Jordan circa 1932 (image courtesy of www.hurrellphotography.com )
Hurrell photographed every star at the studio. His work set a new standard for Hollywood portraits. It even inspired a new name for the genre - glamour photography.
The relationship with MGM ended after just two years because of a disagreement with M-G-M publicity head Howard Strickling. Hurrell left to set up his own studio on Sunset Boulevard. The stars flocked to Hurrell for portraits. Faced with becoming black balled by the studio, he called on his old friend Norma Shearer. Shearer responded by bringing a large signed portrait to his studio and placing it in the window to defy her husband. This assured his survival.
Six years later, Hurrell's returned to his first love - the movies. He moved to Warner Bros., where he helped develop the careers of such stars as Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn and James Cagney. Hurrell later moved on Columbia, where he shaped Rita Hayworth's image.
Evelyn Louis Keyes circa 1943 (© Hurrell Photograph/Columbia Pictures Corp.)
After serving with the First Motion Picture Unit of the U.S. Army Air Force, where he shot training films and photographed generals at the Pentagon, Hurrell returned to Hollywood, but the times had changed. The old style of glamour photography was out, stark reality was in. The new movie star was the girl next door. The new Hollywood portrait was a casual candid snapshot. He relocated to New York, where he continued shooting advertising and fashion lay-outs throughout the 1950's.
The 50's saw Hurrell move back and forth between Hollywood and New York. In 1952, he and his wife, Phyllis, started a television production company located on the Disney lot. After two years, he returned to New York to work on Madison Avenue. Hurrell finally settled in Southern California permanently in 1956, working as a unit still man.
Then the world began looking at his work differently in 1965. His work became art. It all started with an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and continued at various museums throughout the world. He became a star. He was now back in vogue and asked to photograph models like Jerry Hall and Margeaux Hemmingway. Even after his retirement in 1976, Hurrell continued to photograph the icons of the New Hollywood: Sharon Stone, Brooke Shields and John Travolta. Among his last assignments were photographing Warren Beatty and Annette Benning for Bugsy, Natalie Cole for the best-selling "Unforgettable" album and a fashion layout with Jennifer Flavin, his last photographic subject.
During the last years of his life, Hurrell worked with producer J. Grier Clarke and producer-director Carl Colby on Legends in Light, the first major retrospective of his work. George Hurrell died of cancer in 1992.
Esquire Magazine said this about Hurrell back in 1936: "A Hurrell portrait is to the ordinary publicity still what a Rolls Royce is to a roller skate".