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Bruce Bellas / Bruce of Los AngelesBRUCE BELLAS Vintage 1950s Photo of Male Physique Model James Pappa1950s
1950s
About the Item
BRUCE OF L.A. - classic 1950s gelatin silver photograph of physique model JAMES PAPPA by celebrated 20th Century photographer BRUCE BELLAS also known as Bruce of Los Angeles. This is an original photograph from the beefcake "posing strap" era when nude photography was illegal. 'Bruce Los Angeles' and catalogue number 65-8 are stamped on the verso. Photos were printed in the 1950s. Bruce captured James in one of his classic studio setting, here with a 19th Century covered-wagon wheel.
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.
JAMES PAPPA was a popular physique model in the 1950. In 1960 his estranged 22-year old ex-wife Carole Tregoff Pappa, a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas, was convicted of 2nd degree murder along with her doctor-lover. They had killed the doctor’s wife, Mrs. Bernard Finch. James was subpoenaed to testify in the trial and the intensive scandal and news coverage greatly effected his career. However, he remains a beautiful, gifted and classic physique model of the 1950s beefcake era.
This is a vintage black and white original gelatin silver print circa 1950s, stamped on the verso Bruce Los Angeles and numbered 65 -8. The photograph is printed on double weight photographic paper with a light texture and has a high quality low luster premium finish. It measure 4 x 5 inches and has a standard 3/16 inch white boarder. This photograph is from a collection previously owned by the late award winning Broadway and Hollywood costume designer Noel Taylor.
- 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:This is a high quality black and white gelatin silver print by the photographer stamped on verso in black ink "BRUCE LOS ANGELES" and numbered. Image shows some reflection of the textured paper highlighted by my studio lights while taking the images.
- Gallery Location:Glenford, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: Bruce photo of James Pappa 1950s1stDibs: LU2458215192492
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