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Portrait Photography For Sale
Period: 1950s
Period: 1940s
Hats on the Beach, Silver Gelatin Print
Located in Memphis, TN
"Hats on the Beach." This fashion photograph features two models playing checkers on the beach in coordinating swimsuits and monochrome hats. Robinson was a fr...
Category

1950s Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

Holiday Hair Check, Bermuda, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1950s urban portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Faith Gibbons checks her hair in the mirror of a motor scooter, Bermuda. She is wear...
Category

1950s American Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram

"Picasso Sitting", Photograph by Richard Ham 1945
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Richard Ham, American (1920 - ) Title: Picasso in Paris Studio - Picasso Sitting Year: 1945, Printed in 2009 Medium: Gelatin Silver Print, signed and numbered in ink Edition...
Category

1940s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Pool At Carvoeiro, Estate Edition (the Algarve, Portugal)
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Slim Aarons' Pool at Carvoeiro, a newly available Estate Edition photograph, is a graphic image of holidaymakers round a pool in Carvoeiro, Portugal, July 1970. Visual Description: Red, green and blue umbrellas around a turquoise pool, ringed by the white arced beach of Carvoeiro, Portugal. Slim Aarons Chromogenic Lambda print Slim Aarons Estate Edition Printed Later Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwide. Over the course of a career lasting half a century, Slim Aarons (1916-2006) portrayed high society, aristocracy, authors, artists, business icons, the celebrated and their milieu. In doing so, he captured a golden age of wealth, privilege, beauty and leisure that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. The Slim Aarons Estate has released the limited Estate edition as a Lambda print, which is a modern c-type prints. They have chosen Lambda prints for their sharpness, clarity, colour saturation and quality, compared to archival inkjet prints. Lambda printing gives true continuous tone. Photograph is unframed Slide show includes a close-up of the Slim Aarons estate's stamp. Collector will get the next number in the edition * We are pleased to offer the entire archive of the Slim Aarons Estate, offering the official Slim Aarons Estate Edition (only offered in this edition of 150). Internal: vintage '70s portugal, vintage poolside, vintage swim...
Category

1950s American Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

New England Skiing
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Skis leaning against the wall of a hut marked 'Ski Instructors Only' in New Hampshire, 1955. New England Skiing Black and White Photography Slim Aa...
Category

1950s American Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram

Laszlo Willinger, "Katharine Hepburn", signed photograph
Located in Chatsworth, CA
A vintage photograph from the original negative, shot by Laszlo Willinger in 1940. It depicts American actress, Katharine Hepburn. Hepburn, a leadin...
Category

1940s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Billie Holiday Singing
Located in Austin, TX
This capture features Billie Holiday at Downbeat, New York, N.Y., circa June 1946 Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer with a career spanning nearly thirty years. Nicknamed "L...
Category

1940s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Salvador Dali's Party, Estate Edition Photograph [Surrealist Dinner, Green+Red]
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1959: Surrealist painter Salvador Dali (1904 - 1989) with a red-haired woman in a green dress at a vintage ball in New York. The artist is captured with his characteristic walking st...
Category

1950s Surrealist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy dress at 'Villa Rolli"
Located in New York, NY
Ed. of 21, estate-stamped, posthumous print. Includes black frame. Norman Parkinson was the preeminent fashion photographer in Great Britain from the late 1930s until his death in 1...
Category

1950s Portrait Photography

Materials

C Print

In the Blazing Sun at George Airfield
Located in New York, NY
Norman Parkinson In the Blazing Sun at George Airfield, 1951 C print 20 x 16 inches Estate stamped and numbered edition of 21 on verso British fashion model Wenda Parkinson wearing...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

C Print

Esther Williams Poolside, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
American actress and former swimming champion, Esther Williams, in a Florida swimming pool, 1955 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $3350 20 x 20 inches $3000 Complimentary deal...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Marietine Birnie, Blue Lagoon, Malta, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Marietine Birnie snorkeling at the Blue Lagoon, Kemmuna (Comina), Malta, July 1959. This ...
Category

1950s American Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Swimmer and Sunbather, Tahoe, Estate Edition. Vintage 50s California Nevada line
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An underwater swimmer and a sunbather at the Cal Neva Lodge on the shore of Lake Tahoe, 1959. The Cal Neva resort and casino straddles the border between Nevada and California and the line on the bottom of the pool marks the state boundary. It was owned by Frank Sinatra from 1960 to 1968. Slim Aarons Swimmer and Sunbather Cal Neva Lodge, Lake Tahoe Chromogenic Lambda print Slim Aarons Estate Edition Printed Later Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer. 60 x 40 inches $3950 40 x 30 inches $3350 30 x 20 inches $3000 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer. Over the course of a career lasting half a century, Slim Aarons (1916-2006) portrayed high society, aristocracy, authors, artists, business icons, the celebrated and their milieu. In doing so, he captured a golden age of wealth, privilege, beauty and leisure that occurred alongside—but quite separate from—the cultural and political backdrop of the second half of the Twentieth Century. The Slim Aarons Estate has released the limited Estate edition as a Lambda print, which is a modern c-type prints. They have chosen Lambda prints for their sharpness, clarity, colour saturation and quality, compared to archival inkjet prints. Lambda printing gives true continuous tone. Photograph is unframed Slide show includes a close-up of the Slim Aarons estate's stamp. Collector will get the next number in the edition * We are pleased to offer the entire archive of the Slim Aarons Estate, offering the official Slim Aarons Estate Edition (only offered in this edition of 150). Please contact us for additional photographs from Slim Aarons * Internal: Vintage Sport, Midcentury Modern, Vintage Lake Tahoe, Vintage Glamour, Vintage Slim Aarons, Vintage Cal Neva Lodge, American Realist, Midcentury sport, Midcentury Glamour, California Nevada State Line, Midcentury Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Trip, Vintage Watersports...
Category

1950s American Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Elizabeth Taylor with Sunglasses for Giant - Oversize Limited Print
Located in London, GB
Elizabeth Taylor with Sunglasses for "Giant" 1955 by Frank Worth This iconic and elegant portrait captured by celebrity photographer Frank Worth features actress Elizabeth Taylor o...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Chez Maxe, French Black and White Photograph of Cafe Life Post WWII
Located in New york, NY
Interested in “ordinary people" French photographer Willy Ronis was a postwar (WWII) photographer who roamed the streets, photographing people in love, at work, and at play. Chez M...
Category

1940s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

Capote At Home, New York, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features the author Truman Capote (1924 - 1984) relaxing with a book and a cigarette in his clutter...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Grace Kelly at the Premiere of Rear Window
Located in Austin, TX
This stunning recolored portrait features actress Grace Kellythe "Princess of Grace"attending Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window premier in 1954. She is captured here looking at the came...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Cary Grant Seated Looks Right, 1955
Located in New York, NY
Cary Grant Seated Looks Right, 1955. Image size is 22" x 22" (for 24" x 36" paper size). All Mark Shaw prints are made to order in limited editions on Hahnemuhle photo rag paper. Eac...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Giclée

The True Marilyn (1956)
Located in Buffalo, NY
The work offered for sale here is an original vintage silver gelatin print hand created by Halsman in 1956. This work comes in an archival frame presentation. The image alone is approximately 9 x 13. The work was acquired directly from the artist and comes with a COA and lifetime guarantee. Philippe Halsman was at one point considered the best photo-portraitist in France. He had an incessant interest in faces: “Every face I see seems to hide—and sometimes fleetingly reveal—the mystery of another human being.” Halsman’s photographs of politicians, celebrities, and intellectuals were featured widely in magazines like LIFE and Vogue. His more famous subjects included the likes of Marc Chagall, Le Corbusier, Audrey Hepburn, and Albert Einstein. He also had a 37-year collaboration with Salvador Dalí, which resulted in several famous surrealist series including the “Dalí’s Mustache” portraits...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

Tom Kelley 'Dorothy Dandridge'
Located in New York, NY
Tom Kelley Dorothy Dandridge on the microphone c. 1950's C print 28 x 22 inches Edition of 50 Photographs are printed on Archival Hahnemühle paper ...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Milton H. Greene 'Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly'
Located in New York, NY
Milton H. Greene Grace Kelly 1955 (printed later) All archival pigment prints, signed on reverse by the Estate American actress and then Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly for an Ameri...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Milton Greene, "Bowler Hat II" from the Black Sitting, original vintage photo
Located in Chatsworth, CA
This piece is an original vintage photograph by Milton Greene in 1956. This photograph depicts Hollywood Icon Marilyn Monroe, who was a close friend and business partner of the artist. This piece is a part of Greene's series entitled "The Black Sitting...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Slim Aarons 'Ursula Andress'
Located in New York, NY
Slim Aarons Posing At Cap Ferrat 1954 C print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Swiss actress Ursula Andress in It...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Designer's Homes, Ghislaine Lounges in Elsa Schiaparelli's Home, Back, 1953
Located in New York, NY
Ghislaine Lounges in Elsa Schiaparelli's Home -- Mark Shaw photographed Elsa Schiaparelli's best-known model, Ghislaine de Bosisson in an ankle-length dress lounging on an elongated ...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Giclée

Beauty and the Beast
Located in New York, NY
Lady Daphne Cameron (Mrs George Cameron) on a tiger skin rug in the trophy room at socialite Laddie Sanford's home in Palm Beach, Florida. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition o...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Elvis Presley: The Wink
By Lloyd Dinkins
Located in Austin, TX
Vintage candid image of The King, Elvis Presley photographed early in his career in 1956 in Memphis Tennessee by Lloyd Dinkins. Elvis Aaron Presley, also known simply as Elvis, was an American singer, musician, and actor. He is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century and is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "The King". His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Digital

Joan Collins Relaxes, Slim Aarons Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Film star Joan Collins relaxes with her pink poodle on her pink bed. Slim Aarons Joan Collins Relaxes, Estate Edition Chromogenic Lambda print 1955, Printed Later Slim Aarons Estate...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Frankie Avalon Candid with Vintage Car
Located in Austin, TX
Frankie Avalon, the first and most successful of the teen idols from Philadelphia during the 1950s and 1960s. Unlike many of the others, Avalon could really sing. A fine photo of the...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Elizabeth Taylor with Sunglasses for Giant - Oversize Limited Print
Located in London, GB
Elizabeth Taylor with Sunglasses for "Giant" 1955 by Frank Worth This iconic and elegant portrait captured by celebrity photographer Frank Worth features actress Elizabeth Taylor o...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Pussyfooting 2 (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Pussyfooting 2 1958 Chromogenic print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Actress Dee Hartford, wife of film produce...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Beauty and the Beast
Located in New York, NY
Lady Daphne Cameron (Mrs George Cameron) on a tiger skin rug in the trophy room at socialite Laddie Sanford's home in Palm Beach, Florida. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition o...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Luigi Musso - Maserati (full car), Pau
Located in Denton, TX
Open Edition Signed by artist in black ink on print margin by Jesse Alexander Gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in. Jesse Alexander is considered one of the greatest race car photogra...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Mod Girl, Playfully Crossing Eyes, Close Up, 1958
Located in New York, NY
Mod Girl Crosseyed Alternative -- Mademoiselle Model Having Fun. An out take from a photo shoot for the June 1958 issue of Mademoiselle, Mark Shaw caught a model having fun! Image si...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Giclée

Patsy Pulitzer (Aarons Estate Edition)
Located in New York, NY
Patsy Pulitzer leaning against a seaplane belonging to the Everglades Flying Service, at Palm Beach, Florida, 1955. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Ernest Hemingway - Vintage Photograph - 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Hemingway -  Vintage Photo is a black and white photograph realized in the 1950s. Good conditions.
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Elvis Presley Graceland
Located in Austin, TX
Retro 1957 photograph depicting music's new sensation Elvis Presley posing for a photo outside of his new Memphis, Tennessee home, Graceland. This early portrayal was captured on Apr...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Sophia Fountain
Located in New York, NY
Sophia Fountain, 1960 color coupler print 16 x 16" ed. of 30
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Hello There
Located in New York, NY
Hello There 1955 (printed later) Chromogenic print 20 x 20 inches Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity. 1955: ...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

C Print

New York Picnic, Estate Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Premium Rates Apply. A chauffeur unpacks a picnic hamper from a Rolls Royce, against the New York skyline. Slim Aarons Estate Edition, Certificate of Authenticity included Numbered...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Lucky Luciano, Sicily, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Sicilian-born American gangster Charles 'Lucky' Luciano (...
Category

1950s American Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram

Lucky Luciano, Sicily, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late 1950s portrait photograph, captured by society photographer Slim Aarons, features Sicilian-born American gangster Charles 'Lucky' Luciano (...
Category

1950s American Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Emulsion, Photographic Paper, ABS, Black and White, Digital, Photogram

Marilyn Monroe Poolside Glamour
Located in Austin, TX
This captivating pinup features actress Marilyn Monroe standing poolside in a bathing suit and heels. Marilyn Monroe was an American actress model and singer. Famous for playing c...
Category

1940s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment

Shirley Temple Holding a Picnic Basket
Located in Austin, TX
Black and white capture of actress Shirley Temple posed holding a picnic basket. Shirley Temple was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Rock Hudson with Lasso on the Set of Giant
Located in Austin, TX
Beautiful black and white capture of actor Rock Hudson spinning a lasso on the set of "Giant", 1955. Rock Hudson was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his ti...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Marilyn Monroe: Shaking Hands
Located in Austin, TX
Black and white candid capture of star actress Marilyn Monroe shaking hands with a fan. Marilyn Monroe was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "blonde bombshell" ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

Designer's Homes, Ghislaine Lounges in Elsa Schiaparelli's Home, Back, 1953
Located in New York, NY
Ghislaine Lounges in Elsa Schiaparelli's Home -- Mark Shaw photographed Elsa Schiaparelli's best-known model, Ghislaine de Bosisson in an ankle-length dress lounging on an elongated ...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Giclée

Audrey Hepburn at Home, Heron Day Bed, Arms Crossed, 1954
Located in New York, NY
Audrey Hepburn, r19_6 -- Informal portrait of Audrey Hepburn. Out take from the cover shoot for the April 19, 1954 international issue of Life. Image size is 10" x 10" (for 11" x 17"...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Giclée

Coco Chanel Sits on Divan, 1957
Located in New York, NY
Coco Sits on Divan, 1957 -- Coco Chanel sits on her massive beige suede divan talking on the phone with a cigarette dangling from her lower lip. She dislikes ph...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Giclée

Dior, Alla Gloved Hand, 1953
Located in New York, NY
The Eurasian-born Alla was one of Dior's divas. When bathed in attention, she was charismatic and wore her clothes with graceful aplomb. Croque-mitaine model, Autumn-Winter 1953 Haut...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Giclée

Julie London (Aarons Estate Print)
Located in New York, NY
1957: Singer Julie London enjoying breakfast in bed at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authe...
Category

1950s Realist Portrait Photography

Materials

Lambda

Marilyn Monroe Candid Moment - 20th century black and white photography
Located in London, GB
Actress Marilyn Monroe reads the book ‘To the Actor: On the Technique of Acting’ by Michael Chekhov in a quiet moment at the Ambassador Hotel in March 1955 in New York City, New York...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Kennedys, Hyannis Port, Jackie, Magazine Cover, 1959
Located in New York, NY
Kennedy, nb_100 -- Published on the cover of the Ladies Home Journal in 1961, this photo was actually taken in Hyannis Port in 1959 before JFK became president. THE 24” x 36” SIZE OF...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Giclée

Cary Grant Seated Looks Right, 1955
Located in New York, NY
Cary Grant Seated Looks Right, 1955. Image size is 16" x 16" (for 17" x 22" paper size). All Mark Shaw prints are made to order in limited editions on Hahnemuhle photo rag paper. Eac...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Giclée

Autographed Black & White Photograph Portrait of Juan Perón, For Elizabeth Lewis
Located in Soquel, CA
Rare original autographed black and white photograph of Argentinian president Juan Perón, dedicated to Elizabeth Lewis (Bess Huggins Lewis), by an unkn...
Category

1950s Photorealist Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Marilyn Monroe Screen Test for "We're Not Married" Vintage Press Print
Located in Austin, TX
Black and white film still of Marilyn Monroe posed in a screen test for her role as Annabel in "We're Not Married". -- One-of-a-kind original vintage press print from the Celebrity ...
Category

1950s Contemporary Portrait Photography

Materials

Black and White

Historical Photo - Royal Family of England - Vintage Photo - 1940s
Located in Roma, IT
A rare photo of the Royal Family of England in 1940s, with George VI, Queen Mary, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Early George Bowes-Lyon, a young Queen Elizab...
Category

1940s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Dior, Alla Gloved Hand, 1953
Located in New York, NY
The Eurasian-born Alla was one of Dior's divas. When bathed in attention, she was charismatic and wore her clothes with graceful aplomb. Croque-mitaine model, Autumn-Winter 1953 Haut...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Giclée

Picasso and Skull with Bettina wearing McCardell, Wide, 1955
Located in New York, NY
Picasso with Soft Bettina, Wide, 1955 -- Picasso with model Bettina, photographed for LIFE in 1955 in his new Cannes Villa, La Californie. Top French Model, Bettina Graziani wears an outfit by American Fashion Designer Claire McCardell. The shirt's pattern is in the style of a Picasso still life. All the Picasso paintings pictured had been completed within the past few months. Image size is 40" x 59" (for 44" x 63" paper size). All Mark Shaw prints are made to order in limited editions on Hahnemuhle photo rag paper. Each print is Estate stamped on the back and signed and numbered by David Shaw, and accompanied by a letter of authenticity. Lead time is four to six weeks, but we often receive them sooner. *Please note this image is available in several sizes. Prices increase as editions sell out. A photograph in color of Picasso and Bettina. Picasso is wearing a blue collared shirt and brown shorts. He is standing in his villa. To his right, Bettina stands. She is wearing orange pants...
Category

1950s Modern Portrait Photography

Materials

Giclée

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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