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Bruce Bellas / Bruce of Los AngelesBruce Bellas Vintage 1950s Photo Set of 2 Male Physique model Robert Kendall1950s
1950s
About the Item
Bruce of LA - Set of 2 Authentic Vintage 1950s Silver Gelatin Male Physique Photographs by famed 20th Century photographer Bruce Bellas also known as Bruce of Los Angeles of model Robert Kendall. These are original nude shots that obviously show that a posing strap had been drawn on the negative before printing as they were sent through the mail during a period when full nudity was illegal. These are original photographs printed in the 1950s taken in a classic Bruce of LA outdoor natural setting.
Bruce Harry Bellas (July 7, 1909 – July 1974) was an American photographer who pioneered “beefcake photography”. He was influential in his work with male physiques and nudes throughout the 1950s and 1960s an era of Hollywood bodybuilding and was well known under the pseudonym Bruce of Los Angeles.
Bellas traveled around the country, finding farm boys, athletes, soldiers and sailors he encountered along the way to photograph. He often personally delivered his nude photographs to customers in the 1950s, since the controversial photographs were liable to be seized by postal inspectors if sent through the mail. In the 1960s Bellas succeeded in publishing his own magazine, The Male Figure, which allowed clients to order prints of their favorite models.
His impact on physique photography is largely felt and recognized, and the works of Robert Mapplethrope and Bruce Weber are widely considered to be influenced by Bellas' pioneering style of “classic elegance, Hollywood glamour and camp wit”. In 1990, the Wessel O’Connor Gallery in New York and the Jan Kesner Gallery in Los Angeles both exhibited a wide array of Bellas' work, furthering modern recognition of his powerful and artistic impact on the art of male physique photography.
Bellas died while on vacation in Canada in July 1974. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills.
Price is for the set - 2 original photographs.
- Creator:Bruce Bellas / Bruce of Los Angeles (1909 - 1974, American)
- Creation Year:1950s
- Dimensions:Height: 5 in (12.7 cm)Width: 4 in (10.16 cm)Depth: 0.07 in (1.78 mm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:These are vintage high quality black and white original prints by the photographer stamped in black ink "BRUCE LOS ANGELES" and numbered. Images show some reflection of the textured paper from my studio lights while taking the images.
- Gallery Location:Glenford, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: Bruce 2 photos of Kendall 19501stDibs: LU2458214628902
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