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Portrait Photography For Sale
Period: 1930s
Period: 1920s
Period: 1910s
Greta Garbo - Black and White Photograph by Clarence Sinclair Bull, 1930
Located in Soquel, CA
Greta Garbo - Black and White Photograph by Clarence Sinclair Bull, 1930
1930 Black and white portrait photograph of Swedish/American actress Greta Garbo (Swedish, 1905-1990) by Clarence Sinclair Bull (American, 1896-1979). Greta Garbo poses in a top hat and collard shirt while gazing away from the camera. Printed by the artist circa 1970's. A black and white photograph, matte finish, double-weight paper, depicting a 1931 shot of the star titled 'Mata Hari,' printed decades later from the original negative, pencilled in the lower left corner "A.P.," Estate stamped and blind embossed in the lower right corner "Clarence Sinclair Bull," further blind embossed in same corner "The Kobal / Collection," verso with the photographer's black ink credit stamp, verso further with two "Edward Weston" black ink credit stamps dated "1981" and "1992," originally from the John Kobal Collection.
Greta Garbo was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic characters, and her subtle and understated performances. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Garbo fifth on its list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema.
Clarence Sinclair Bull was born in Sun River, Montana, in 1896. His career began when Samuel Goldwyn hired him in 1920 to photograph publicity stills of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio's stars. He is most famous for his photographs of Greta Garbo, taken between 1926 and 1941. Bull's first portrait of Garbo was a costume study for the silent romantic drama film Flesh and the Devil in September 1926.
Bull was able to study with the great Western painter...
Category
1930s Photorealist Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Frida with Granizo - Black and White Portrait, Frida Kahlo, Celebrity, Animal
Located in Denton, TX
Frida with Granizo by Nickolas Muray is a black and white portrait of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo with her pet fawn, Granizo. Frida crouches down to place her hand on the small deer ...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Platinum
'Art Deco Greta Garbo' Giant Oversize print
Located in London, GB
'Art Deco Greta Garbo'
Greta Garbo in 'Mata Hari,' 1931.
(Photo: Clarence Sinclair Bull)
Beautiful mint condition Giant Archival Pigment print
measuring a very large
60 x 40 inches / 152 x 101 cm's
Edge Prints...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Black and White, Archival Pigment
Ted Higby at Skyline Rodeo, 1928
Located in New York, NY
Listing includes framing with UV plexiglas, free shipping and a 14 day return policy.
Ted Higby at Skyline Rodeo, 1928
15 x 12 inch gelatin silver print
Image Size: 14 x 8.5 inches
Frame size: 22.5 x 17.5 x 2 inches
Edition of 15
Lora Webb Nichols was born in 1883 and grew up in the small mining town of Encampment, Wyoming. At the age of 16 Lora received her first camera and from that moment and for the next few decades she produced work that is both stunning in its singular voice and revealing in the world it opens up for us.
At first Nichols photographed her family, friends, and the landscape around Encampment, but when the town experienced a copper mining boom Nichols expanded her scope to become a photographer for hire shooting portraits and industrial photographs. When the boom collapsed, Nichols took the risk of opening her own business in Encampment - The Rocky Mountain Studio - which opened in 1925. The studio ran for ten years, accumulating 24,000 negatives that illustrate the lives and environment of the people living in and around the town while creating a distinctive and surprising body of work. If one was to attempt an analogy – Nichols’ pictures fit somewhere between Lartigue and Lange - joyful and generous while objectively intimate. In particular what seems to distinguish Nichols’ work is the way she sees the world from a female perspective. As Vince Aletti...
Category
1920s Other Art Style Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Japanese State cabinet Hiranuma - Vintage Photo 1939
Located in Roma, IT
Japanese State cabinet Hiranuma is a b/w photographic print on polished paper, taken on March 12, 1939 by Wide World Photos (England).
Stamp and stereotype in German on the back...
Category
1930s Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
Frida and Diego with Gas Mask - Black and White Photograph, Couple
Located in Denton, TX
Frida and Diego with Gas Mask is a limited edition black and white portrait of Mexican painters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. The couple embraces each other while Frida holds a gas m...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Frank Sinatra - Me and My Shadow
Located in Chicago, IL
Portrait of Frank Sinatra circa 1939. Taken at their apartment on Garden St, Hoboken, NJ. Photo by Nancy Sinatra Senior. This striking photo is one of the family’s favorites. This is...
Category
1930s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Ink, Rag Paper, Giclée
George Hurrell, "James Cagney", original photograph from original negative
Located in Chatsworth, CA
An original black and white photograph from the original negative by George Hurrell, shot in 1938 and printed in 1979. This image depicts "Old Hollywood" actor, James Cagney...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, Picasso 1930-1935, Cahiers d'Art (after)
By Man Ray
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Lithograph on vélin paper. Stamp-signed and unnumbered, as issued. Good condition. Notes: From the album, Picasso 1930-1935, 1936. Published and printed by Éditions des Cahiers d'Art...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Lithograph
Norman Parkinson 'For ballerinas on the beach and in the swim, 1939'
Located in New York, NY
Fashion model Pamela Minchin photographed on the Isle of Wight wearing Fortnum and Mason’s dark burgundy Lastex satin swimsuit with ballet skirt, Harper’s Bazaar, July 1939.
'For ba...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Architecture and Art Photo - Church of Frari - Venice - 1920s
Located in Roma, IT
Architecture and Art Photo - Church of Frari is a black and white vintage photo, realized in the 1920s. It belongs to masterpiece of art and architecture album meticulously captured....
Category
1920s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
Dolores Del Rio in Resurrection
Located in Austin, TX
Resurrection is a 1927 Hollywood adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's 1899 novel Resurrection. Filmmaker Edwin Carewe adapted the book to a feature-length silent production starring Dolores del Río and featuring an appearance by Ilya Tolstoy who co-wrote the script. In 1928, due to the public apathy towards silent films, a sound version was also prepared. The sound version included a newly filmed prologue in which the theme song "Russian Lullaby" was performed and sung. While the actual film had no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. In 1931, Edwin Carewe directed an all-talking remake of this film starred by Lupe Vélez...
Category
1920s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Bette Davis in Fur Coat
By Elmer Fryer
Located in Austin, TX
Black and white studio portrait of Bette Davis posed in a fur coat, circa 1935.
Bette Davis was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest...
Category
1930s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Mussolini in Venice - Vintage Photo - 1937
Located in Roma, IT
'Mussolini in Venice is a b/w photographic print on glazed paper. Stamp of agency Trampus, Paris and cliché applied on the back. realized on 23 April 1937.
In the photo, Mussolini is in Venice for the meeting with Chancellor Schuschnigg. Mussolini stands on a motorboat near the Santa Lucia...
Category
1930s Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
Hachiro and Craigie - Vintage Photo 1939
Located in Roma, IT
Hachiro and Craigie is a b/w photographic print on polished paper by The Associated Press of Berlin, taken on July 28, 1939.
Stamp of agency and stereotype in German are printed on t...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
George Hurrell, "Robert Taylor", original photograph from original negative
Located in Chatsworth, CA
An original photograph from the original negative shot by George Hurrell in 1936 and printed at a later date. It depicts the late iconic actor, Robert Taylor...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
Frank Sinatra "Selfie" in the Medicine Cabinet
Located in Chicago, IL
An early Self Portrait of Frank Sinatra circa late 1930s. At home in Hoboken, NJ. One of the earliest photos found in the family archive and perhaps, lik...
Category
1930s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Ink, Rag Paper, Giclée
Fred Astaire Leaning Outdoors
Located in Austin, TX
Fred Astaire was an American dancer, singer, actor, choreographer, and television presenter. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential dancers in the history of film and t...
Category
1930s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Ann Sheridan
Located in Chatsworth, CA
This piece is an original photograph, shot by George Hurrell in 1939 and printed at a later date. It depicts American actress and singer, Ann Sheridan, who had a 30 year long career...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
'Cheetah Who Shops' Limited Edition Photographic Print by Getty, 20x24
Located in San Rafael, CA
American silent film actress Phyllis Gordon (1889 - 1964) window-shopping in Earls Court, London with her four-year-old cheetah who was flown to Britain from Kenya. (Photo by B C Par...
Category
1930s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
George Hurrell, Clark Gable, original photograph, 1932
Located in Chatsworth, CA
This piece is an original photograph shot by George Hurrell in 1932, and printed at a later date. It depicts legendary American film star, Clark Gable, who was known as the "King of...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
'Hungry Elephant' Limited Edition Photographic Print by Getty, 20x30
Located in San Rafael, CA
An elephant named Mae West accepts an apple from a passing tram driver while taking her morning exercise along Gray's Inn Road, London, 16th December 1936. Mae is helping to publicis...
Category
1930s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
'Hungry Elephant' Limited Edition Photographic Print by Getty, 20x16
Located in San Rafael, CA
An elephant named Mae West accepts an apple from a passing tram driver while taking her morning exercise along Gray's Inn Road, London, 16th December 1936. Mae is helping to publicis...
Category
1930s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
North Coast Native
Located in Pacific Grove, CA
This early silver gelatin print is signed and dated in pencil on the front of the mount with the artist's Green Street label and typed title on the back of the mount. Likely printed ...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Jean Harlow
Located in Chatsworth, CA
This piece is an original vintage photograph from the original negative, shot by Clarence Sinclair Bull in 1936. This piece depicts Jean Harlow, who was a...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
Pictorialist Photography, "Pensive Woman"
Located in Rochester, NY
Pictorialist photograph of a young woman. Silver print in the original oak frame. Inscribed on reverse R.S. Paddock, Early 20th century.
Pictorialism is the name given to an interna...
Category
1910s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Frida at the Border - Black and White Photograph, Portrait, Woman Artist
Located in Denton, TX
Frida at the Border by Lucienne Bloch is a black and white photograph of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo standing amongst others in a city street scene.
Mount size: 20 x 16 in.
Image s...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Greta Garbo
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Clarence Sinclair Bull was one of the great masters of the Hollywood portrait. As head of the stills department at MGM for over thirty years, he helped to pioneer the art and craft o...
Category
1930s Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Chestnut Vendor, Depression by John Albok, 1933, Silver Gelatin Print
By John Albok
Located in Denton, TX
Chestnut Vendor, Depression by John Albok depicts a man selling chestnuts on the street. The man looks down at his hands as he cracks open the chestnut. To his left sits a bowl of ch...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Woman With Flag, Mexico City
By Tina Modotti
Located in Carmel, CA
From a Portfolio printed by Mother Jones. Authorized copy. Stunning reproduction. Limited Edition. Certification of Authenticity.
Category
1920s Portrait Photography
Materials
Platinum
Carole Lombard, 1931 - Cecil Beaton (Portrait Photography)
By Cecil Beaton
Located in London, GB
Carole Lombard, 1931 - Cecil Beaton (Portrait Photography)
Signed on front of mount
Stamped with photographer's ink stamp on reverse
Silver gelatin prin...
Category
1930s Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Frida on White Bench - Portrait, Celebrity, Frida Kahlo, Painter, Artist
Located in Denton, TX
Frida on White Bench, New York, by Nickolas Muray is a colorful portrait of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. This iconic image features the woman artist sitting on a white bench in fron...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Prosperity on the Corner
By John Albok
Located in Denton, TX
Vintage Silver Gelatin Print.
Title, date and signature on mat margin
1980 stamp in black ink twice on mount verso
Category
1930s American Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Early 20th Century Photograph -- Sidewalk Club of the Motherlode
Located in Soquel, CA
"Sidewalk Club of the Motherlode" a Lithobrome photograh by Sigismund Blumann (American, 1872-1956). Signed "Sigismund Blumann" lower right. Titled "Sidewalk Club of the Motherlode" on verso. Image size, 11.25"H x 13.25"W. Between 1923 and 1932, his pictures were accepted at photographic salons in Amsterdam, Toronto, Rochester, Seattle, and Los Angeles. In 1927, a one-person exhibition of his bromoil prints traveled to camera clubs in Chicago, Akron, Cincinnati, and New York. In addition to bromoil, a process that yields pointillistic images, Blumann utilized such unusual processes as kallitype (Vandyke brown), lithobrome, and pastelograph (the latter two probably his own inventions) to create original photographs using chemical processes he invented.
Sigismund Blumann (1872–1956) (figure 1) was a prominent tastemaker in Californian photography during the 1920s and 1930s. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area for his entire career, he edited magazines, wrote books, and made creative photographs. From 1924 to 1933 Blumann edited Camera Craft, the leading West Coast photographic monthly. Subsequently he established his own periodical, Photo Art Monthly, which he published until 1940. In these two magazines — for over fifteen years — Blumann found a large audience of mainstream pictorial photographers. In addition, he wrote five instructional books on photography...
Category
1920s Realist Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Merle Oberon, 1930s - Cecil Beaton (Portrait Photography)
By Cecil Beaton
Located in London, GB
Merle Oberon, 1930s - Cecil Beaton (Portrait Photography)
Inscribed 'Merle Oberon' and stamped with Sotheby's Cecil Beaton studio ink stamp on reverse
Sil...
Category
1930s Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Juliet with One Peacock Feather Eye, Chicago
By György Kepes
Located in Denton, TX
Signed, dated and numbered.
Portfolio Twelve Photographs, No. 13
György Kepes was a Hungarian artist born in 1906. He studied painting at the Budapest’s Academy of Fine Arts. In 193...
Category
1930s Bauhaus Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
New York City, Harlem
By Harold L. Harvey
Located in Denton, TX
Titled, dated and artist stamp.
Category
1930s American Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Harlem (Three Cowboys)
By John Albok
Located in Denton, TX
John Albok
Harlem (Three Cowboys), 1938
Vintage gelatin silver print, 9 1/2 x 7 1/2 in.
Titled in pencil on mount margin.
Signed and dated by John Albok in pencil, artist stamp in bl...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Jean Harlow and Ben Lyon Sitting in Car
Located in Austin, TX
This black and white capture features smiling Jean Harlow and Ben Lyon sitting in car while embracing from the film scene "Hell's Angels", circa 1930.
Hell's Angels is a 1930 Americ...
Category
1930s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Robert Taylor
Located in Denton, TX
Edition 46/250
Signed and numbered in black ink on print margin.
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
George Hurrell, "Joan Crawford, " rare vintage photograph
Located in Chatsworth, CA
This piece is an original photograph in sepia tone from the original negative, shot by George Hurrell in 1932 and printed by Hurrell circa 1977. This is a rare photograph as it is o...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
Gorgeous Joan (1931) Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized
Located in London, GB
Gorgeous Joan (1931) Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized
(photo Glasshouse Images / Alamy Archives )
Joan Crawford, on-set of the Film “Possessed”,
1931.
Additional Informati...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
Alabama, Iconic Black and White Portrait Photography, Burroughs Family
By Walker Evans
Located in New york, NY
Burroughs Family, Hale County, Alabama, 1936 is paper size: 11" x 11.25" and image size: 7.5" x 9.4" A silver gelatin print c.1978 in an edition 44/75. Inscribed in ink on front of p...
Category
1930s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
National Museum of Rome-Faun - Vintage Photograph - Mid-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
National Museum of Rome-Faun is a black and white vintage photo, realized in the mid-20th century.
It belongs to a historical album including historical moments, royal families, an...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
Dedicated to Monsieur Ferrari - Vintage Photo by C. Speyer - 1920s
Located in Roma, IT
Dedicated to Monsieur Ferrari is an Artwork realized by the photographer C. Speyer in 1920s, and decidated to painter Carlo Ferrari.
Photo on paper. Hand Signed on the right corner ...
Category
1920s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Paper
Joan Crawford (1933) Silver Gelatin Fibre Print
Located in London, GB
Joan Crawford (1933) Silver Gelatin Fibre Print - Oversized
(Photo by Pictorial Press / Alamy Archives)
1933
Joan Crawford (1905-1977) US film actress.
Additional Information:
U...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Black and White, Archival Pigment
' Betty Grable ' c. 1930
Located in London, GB
Betty Grable, 1930s / Everett Collection.
stunning and vivid photograph of classic Hollywood film star Betty Grable.
"With the man the world is his hea...
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
MAN RAY (1890-1976), RAYOGRAPH, 1923 Photogravure, FIRST EDITION
By Man Ray
Located in Pembroke Pines, FL
Artist: Man Ray (American born, 1890 - 1976)
Title: RAYOGRAPH
Date Of Negative: 1923
Type Of Print: Authentic Vintage Sheet Fed Photogravure/Heliogravure.
Date Of Print: 1934 1st Edi...
Category
1920s Photorealist Portrait Photography
Materials
Photogravure
Rita Hayworth in Burbank 20" x 16" Edition of 125
By Frank Worth
Located in Austin, TX
Black and white candid image of Rita Hayworth in Burbank, walking along a beautiful street scene.
Rita Hayworth was an American actress, dancer, and producer. She achieved fame duri...
Category
1930s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Pigment
MAN RAY (1890-1976), ARNOLD SCHOENBERG, 1934 Photogravure, FIRST EDITION
By Man Ray
Located in Pembroke Pines, FL
Artist: Man Ray (American born, 1890 - 1976)
Title: ARNOLD SCHOENBERG
Date Of Negative: 1934
Type Of Print: Authentic Vintage Sheet Fed Photogravure/Heliogravure.
Date Of Print: 1934...
Category
1920s Photorealist Portrait Photography
Materials
Photogravure
Babe Ruth: The Sultan of Swat
Located in Austin, TX
Great black and white action shot of Babe Ruth on the field, bats thrown over his shoulder and smiling.
was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Bas...
Category
1930s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Pigment
MAN RAY (1890-1976), HENRI MATISSE, 1922 Photogravure, FIRST EDITION
By Man Ray
Located in Pembroke Pines, FL
Artist: Man Ray (American born, 1890 - 1976)
Title: HENRI MATISSE
Date Of Negative: 1922
Type Of Print: Authentic Vintage Sheet Fed Photogravure/Heliogravure.
Date Of Print: 1934 1st...
Category
1920s Photorealist Portrait Photography
Materials
Photogravure
The Marx Brothers - Vintage b/w Photograph - 1930s
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage Photo.
The Marx Brothers in a scene from the movie "Horse Feathers" by Norman Z.Mc Leod.
Good condition.
Category
1930s Modern Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
MAN RAY (1890-1976), SURREAL DISTORTED HOUSE, 1920 Photogravure, FIRST EDITION
By Man Ray
Located in Pembroke Pines, FL
Artist: Man Ray (American born, 1890 - 1976)
Title: SURREAL DISTORTED HOUSE REFLECTION
Date Of Negative: 1920
Type Of Print: Authentic Vintage Sheet Fed Photogravure/Heliogravure.
Da...
Category
1920s Photorealist Portrait Photography
Materials
Photogravure
MAN RAY (1890-1976), ABSTRACT RAYOGRAPHY, 1927 Photogravure, FIRST EDITION
By Man Ray
Located in Pembroke Pines, FL
Artist: Man Ray (American born, 1890 - 1976)
Title: ABSTRACT RAYOGRAPHY
Date Of Negative: 1927
Type Of Print: Authentic Vintage Sheet Fed Photogravure/Heliogravure.
Date Of Print: 19...
Category
1920s Photorealist Portrait Photography
Materials
Photogravure
MAN RAY (1890-1976), ANDRE DERAIN, 1926 Photogravure, FIRST EDITION
By Man Ray
Located in Pembroke Pines, FL
Artist: Man Ray (American born, 1890 - 1976)
Title: Andre Derain
Date Of Negative: 1926
Type Of Print: Authentic Vintage Sheet Fed Photogravure/Heliogravure.
Date Of Print: 1934 1st ...
Category
1920s Photorealist Portrait Photography
Materials
Photogravure
Evelyn Brent Posed in Fur
Located in Austin, TX
Black and white glamour shot of silent film actress Evelyn Brent posed in a fur coat.
Brent made more than two dozen silent films, including three for director Josef von Sternberg. ...
Category
1920s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Mussolini in Libya - Vintage Photo - 1937
Located in Roma, IT
Mussolini in Libya is a b/w photographic print on glazed paper. Stamp of agency Trampus, Paris and cliché applied on the back, realized on 20 Mars of 1937.
Very good general conditi...
Category
1930s Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper
Portrait Photography for Sale on 1stDibs
Portrait photography can be a powerful part of your wall decor. Find a provocative and compelling portrait that speaks to you and you might find that the photograph will speak to your guests too.
Prior to the development of photography, which eventually replaced portrait paintings as a quicker and more efficient way of capturing a person’s essence, the subject of a portrait had to sit for hours until the painter had finished. In 1839, chemist and Philadelphia-based photographer Robert Cornelius didn’t have to wait very long for his portrait. In a matter of minutes, he captured what many believe to be the first portrait photograph. This shot was also the first self-portrait (or what we now call a “selfie”), and fine photography quickly became an art form.
Landscape photography, nude photography and portrait photography are very popular in today's modern interiors. A portrait can reveal a lot about the person in it. It can also add a narrative touch to your decor. You’ll often find that photographs of loved ones work well as decorative touches. A portrait of a family member or dear friend can help turn a house into a home, warming any space by evoking fond memories.
While family portraits can stir emotion, portraits of celebrities and important historical figures can also add a rich dynamic to your space. Portraits of famous musicians or intriguing actors hung in your dining room or home bar shot by Gered Mankowitz or Annie Leibovitz might inspire deep conversation over meals or drinks. Douglas Kirkland is also famous for his celebrity portraits. His photojournalism made him much sought after by Hollywood studios to document the filming of movies. In Kirkland’s powerful depiction of Hollywood stars, he excellently captures the glamour of their lives.
Other artists like Elliott Erwitt stand out by turning portraiture into a playful art form. Before graduating from high school in Hollywood, Erwitt had already begun to teach himself to take pictures, inspired by the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson. In image after image, Erwitt captured what photographers call “the moment” with rapier wit and penetrating humanity.
Portrait photography can be incredibly expressive, setting the tone and mood for a room. And there are different ways of incorporating portrait photography into your interior decor. If you’re thinking about adding color photography to a bedroom or living room, the colors of the portraits can become part of the room’s palette, while portraits shot in black and white won’t disrupt an existing color scheme.
On 1stDibs, find a vast selection of portrait photography from different eras, including 1950s portraits, 1960s portrait photography and more.
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