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Don Whitman Western Studio Guild
DON WHITMAN WESTERN PHOTOGRAPHY GUILD VINTAGE 1949 - Physique Model ED FURY

1940s

$425
£322.65
€369.05
CA$593.79
A$660.42
CHF 344.85
MX$8,036.61
NOK 4,404.27
SEK 4,130.43
DKK 2,754.33
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About the Item

Original vintage 1949 photograph by DON WHITMAN - Western Photography Guild - of popular celebrity Physique Model ED FURY. This is an early original gelatin silver print from the forefront of the 'beefcake' post-war photography movement. Photograph is in excellent condition with "Western Photography Guild Box 2801 Denver, Colo." printed in blue ink on the verso. Whitman captures Ed Fury in a stunning nude muscle-back pose in one of his signature outdoor natural Colorado settings during the post WW II years (late 1940s & 1950s) when a restrictive moral code and heightened fear of homosexuality dominated American politics. Photographer Don Whitman (1917-1998) established Western Photography Guild, a physique photography studio, in Denver, Colorado in 1947. Specializing in male physique photography and becoming a master of outdoor photography with the Colorado landscape as a natural backdrop, Don and his Western Photography Guild remained active for the next 50 years. Don found much success in the 1950s as interest in physique photography grew and he established his place alongside Bruce Bellas (Bruce of LA) and Douglas Julleff (Doug of Detroit) the best in the "beefcake" photography world. All three photographer are now recognized for the sophistication, artistic and technical expertise they brought to an important, then underground, art form and for their enormous contributions to the advancement of mid-20th Century gay liberation. Ed Fury was born Edmund Holovchik in Long Island, New York in 1928. He was an orphan who took up bodybuilding in high school and moved to Los Angeles about 1947.  Once there, he continued his bodybuilding and began a long, successful trek into the movies.  Along the way, he posed nude for physique photographers including Bruce Bellas and Don Whitman and made the burgeoning Muscle Beach scene.  In the mid 1950s, Ed Fury appeared in quite a few movies and on television. He was a trained dancer and appeared in the 1953 movie ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ with Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe, choreography by Jack Cole. He is also seen in 1956 with Marilyn Monroe in the movie Bus Stop and in 1957 in the movie musical South Pacific where he sings the opening line of the song “Nothing Like a Dame”. Ed Fury appeared on the cover of at least ten physique magazines between 1952 and 1961. He passed away on February 24, 2023 at his home in Woodland Hills, California at the age of 94. This is an vintage black and white original gelatin silver print circa 1949. It is not a reproduction or 2nd edition printing. Photograph is printed on double weight very light textured photographic paper with a premium finish. Photographs measure 3 3/4 inches x 4 3/4 inches which includes a 1/16 inch white boarder. The photograph is from a collection previously owned by the late Broadway and Hollywood costume designer Noel Taylor.
  • Creator:
    Don Whitman Western Studio Guild (1917 - 1998, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1940s
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 4.75 in (12.07 cm)Width: 3.75 in (9.53 cm)Depth: 0.07 in (1.78 mm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Glenford, NY
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: Western Photography Guild ED FURY 1949 1stDibs: LU2458215210582

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