Unknown
ORSON wELLES - SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH
circa 1937

Name: ORSON wELLES - SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH
Brand: Unknown
Price: 2250 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Unknown Photographer. SIGNED ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH OF ORSON WELLES. Photographer not known, no date, but circa 1937/8. Silver Gelatin Photograph, 7 x 5 inches Inscribed "To Arnold/Love/Orson." Welles (1915-1985) is very young in the photograph, seated, in profile, with his right hand in the pocket of his jacket. Provenance: Estate of L. Arnold Weissberger, 1907-1981, an attorney who represented many prominent personalities in the theater, dance, film and other arts through his law firm Weissberger and Frosch. He was named as alternate executor to his law partner Frosch in Marilyn Monroe's will. Weissberger represented Welles in the legal battles over the staging of Marc Blitzstein's opera, The Cradle Will Rock, and served as his personal attorney from 1938 until 1949, playing a leading role in helping to manage the financial affairs of both Welles and the Mercury Players, and in the successful handling of the defamation lawsuit brought by William Randolph Hearst over Welles' film "Citizen Kane." (See Orson Welles: Rise and Fall of an American Genius by Charles Higham, Macmillan, 2002). His sister, Augusta Weissberger, became Welles' personal secretary in 1935, and later was his business manager. Weissberger was also an avid photographer of celebrities, and published a book "Famous Faces." While it is tempting to speculate that Weissberger took this photo, it seems likely that it would have been included in "Famous Faces" if he had. Given that Welles was age 22 at the time Weissberger first represented him, it seems reasonable to believe that the photo and the inscription date from the early days of their relationship. A superb photograph, and an important association item. In excellent condition.

Creation Year:

circa 1937

Dimensions:

Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 9 in (22.86 cm)

Medium:

Silver Gelatin

Period:

1930-1939

Condition:

Gallery Location:

Portland, ME

Reference Number: