Carl Van Vechten

CARL VAN VECHTEN PHOTOGRAPH OF BALLERINA ALICIA MARKOVA AUTOGRAPHED 1941

1941

James Cagney portrait by famed Hollywood art photographer George Hurrell - Signed in 1940 with Inscription to George (Yuri) Zoritch - “To Yuri Zurich Good luck Good wishes and thoughts Jim Cagney” This is a original mint quality photograph signed and given to fellow dancer George (Yuri) Zoritch by James Cagney in 1940. Zoritch was rehearsing at MGM at the time. The photograph is a stunning art portrait of Cagney. It is in excellent condition with no tears or creases and has a high quality mat finish on heavy weight photo paper. This is not a reprint. It is an original high quality vintage photograph. George Hurrell is the Master of Hollywood Glamour Photography. He photographed nearly every major actor and actress of Hollywood's Golden Age and his portraits are iconic in the field. During the 1930s and early 1940s, George Hurrell (1904–1992) reigned as Hollywood’s preeminent portrait photographer. Hired by the Publicity Department at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) when he was only twenty-five, Hurrell advanced rapidly to become the studio’s principal portraitist. With a keen eye for artful posing, innovative lighting effects, and skillful retouching, he produced timeless portraits that burnished the luster of many of the greatest stars. James Cagney (1899 – 1986) was an American actor and dancer on stage and in film. He was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing which won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances. Cagney is remembered for playing multifaceted tough guys in films such as The Public Enemy, Taxi!, Angels with Dirty Faces, The Roaring Twenties, City for Conquest, and White Heat , finding himself typecast or limited by this reputation earlier in his career.[4] He was able to negotiate dancing opportunities in his films and ended up winning the Academy Award for his role in the musical Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). In 1999 the American Film Institute ranked him eighth on its list of greatest male stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.[5] Orson Welles described him as "maybe the greatest actor who ever appeared in front of a camera". Cagney's fifth film, The Public Enemy, became one of the most influential gangster movies of the period. Notable for a famous scene in which Cagney pushes half a grapefruit against Mae Clarke's face, the film thrust him into the spotlight. He became one of Hollywood's leading stars and one of Warner Bros.' biggest contracts. In 1938 he received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his subtle portrayal of the tough guy/man-child Rocky Sullivan in Angels with Dirty Faces. In 1942 Cagney won the Oscar for his energetic portrayal of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy. He was nominated a third time in 1955 for Love Me or Leave Me with Doris Day. Cagney retired from acting and dancing in 1961 to spend time on his farm with his family. He came out of retirement 20 years later for a part in the movie Ragtime (1981), mainly to aid his recovery from a stroke. George Zoritch (born Yuri Zoritch 1917– 2009), was a Russian-born American ballet dancer who was the star dancer of Ballet Russe throughout Europe, South America and the United States in the 1930s. In the early 1940s he came to Hollywood and over the next decade was featured in 8 major Hollywood films working alongside Alexis Smith...

George Platt Lynes Photograph #9 of dancer Francisco Moncion 1949. George Platt Lynes rare original vintage 1949 gelatin silver photograph of dancer Francisco Moncion. Stamped on verso - GEORGE PLATT LYNES. Photo is 7 3/4 x 9 1/2 inches, glossy finish in excellent condition. This photograph is #9 from a collection of 12 different poses in this series taken in Platt Lynes's NYC studio in 1949 (as per the NY Public Library archives). The cloud backdrop is recognizable in other Platt Lynes photographs. Moncion was a personal friend of Platt Lynes and this photograph is from Moncion's personal photographic collection. George Platt Lynes (1907–1955), was a gregarious American portrait, dance, fashion, and male nude photographer whose career spanned the late 1920s through the early 1950s. From age eighteen, Lynes entered the cosmopolitan world of the American expatriate community in Paris when he became acquainted with the salon of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. He began photographing authors like Stein, Jean Cocteau, André Gide, and Colette and soon established himself as one of the premier fashion photographers in the Condé Nast stable, documenting the ballet companies of George Balanchine/Lincoln Kirstein, and pursuing a private obsession with seductive images of young male nudes rarely published in his lifetime. Platt Lynes photographs are in the collections of every major art museum and university archive including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Yale Art Museum, and the Smithsonian. Francisco Moncion (July 6, 1918 – April 1, 1995) was a charter member of the New York City Ballet. Over the course of his forty year career, choreographers George Balanchine, and Jerome Robbins in the New York City Ballet created 22 major roles for Moncion including the Dark Angel in Orpheus, Death in La Valse, Prince Ivan in Firebird, and the Boy in Afternoon of a Faun. He was also a choreographer and a talented painter who exhibited alongside Miro, Picasso and Carrado Cagli. Moncion was a popular model for many famed mid-century (late 1930s, 1940s - 1950s) figure photographers including Platt Lynes, Carl van Vechten, Maurice Seymour...

George Platt Lynes 1948 Photograph #1 of Balanchine Ballet ‘Orpheus’. George Platt Lynes rare original vintage 1948 silver gelatin photograph (dated by the NY City Public Library) of nude dancers Francisco Moncion and Nicholas Magallanes in George Balanchine's iconic mid-20th Century ballet Orpheus. Stamped on verso in dark blue ink at upper center, "GEORGE PLATT LYNES/145 EAST 52 STREET NEW YORK”. Photo shoot took place in NYC. Costumes and Set by ISAMU NAGUCHI. Photo is 7 5/8 x 9 1/4 inches, soft satin finish in excellent condition. This photograph is one from my collection of 14 different poses in this series of nude photographs of Moncion and Magallanes in Orpheus by Platt Lynes. 8 different photography are remaining and are available on request. Original stamped by the artist gelatin silver prints are rare. Photographs from this celebrated series are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), Museum of Modern Art (MOMA, NYC), the NYC Public Library, and many university art archives. George Platt Lynes (1907–1955), was a gregarious American portrait, dance, fashion, and male nude photographer whose career spanned the late 1920s through the early 1950s. From age eighteen, Lynes entered the cosmopolitan world of the American expatriate community in Paris when he became acquainted with the salon of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. He began photographing authors like Stein, Jean Cocteau, André Gide, and Colette and soon established himself as one of the premier fashion photographers in the Condé Nast stable, documenting the ballet companies of George Balanchine/Lincoln Kirstein, and pursuing a private obsession with seductive images of young male nudes rarely published in his lifetime. Orpheus represents a major 20th Century artistic collaboration between composer Igor Stravinsky, choreographer George Ballanchine, and artist/designer Isamu Naguchi. Orpheus is a thirty-minute neoclassical ballet composed by Igor Stravinsky in collaboration with choreographer George Balanchine in Hollywood, California in 1947. The work was commissioned by Ballet Society, later renamed New York City Ballet, which Balanchine founded with Lincoln Kirstein. Sets and costumes were created by Isamu Noguchi. Noguchi’s lyre harp from the production became the symbol of the New York City Ballet. Francisco Moncion (July 6, 1918 – April 1, 1995) was a charter member of the New York City Ballet. Over the course of his forty year career, choreographers George Balanchine, and Jerome Robbins in the New York City Ballet created 22 major roles for Moncion including the Dark Angel...

Jack Mitchell vintage mid-20th Century photograph of modern dancer Louis Falco in his most iconic pose in 1972. Copyright stamped and dated 1972 and personally signed by Jack Mitchel...

This stylish artwork, 'Black Handbag' taken at the glamorous retro event Goodwood Revival, perfectly captures feminine sophistication with a vintage vibe. This artwork featured in Ri...

This stylish artwork, 'Glamour Cabs' taken at the glamorous retro event Goodwood Revival, perfectly captures feminine sophistication with a vintage vibe. This artwork featured in Ric...

Part of Richard Heeps 'Burlesque' Series, this photograph is so cool and cinematic. Richard became well-known for his Burlesque Photography after he spent 2003 capturing performances...

Part of Richard Heeps 'Man's Ruin' Series, this was shot in Bakersfield, California two years after, he photographed Wendy Resting, they make a great pair. This artwork is a limited...