Vanity Fair Portraits: 1913-2008

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London’s National Portrait Gallery is hosting up until May 26th a special retrospective:

“Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008,” celebrates 95th anniversary in celebrity portraiture and master photographers who have graced the pages of Vanity Fair.

Julianne Moore Vanity Fair
Liza Minnelli Vanity Fair
Hollywood Cover by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair

From Edward Steichen, Man Ray, Cecil Beaton, to Herb Ritts, Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, Bruce Weber, the heaviest names of photography have given their vision to the pages of Vanity Fair as years went by.

Run DMC by Jonas Karlsson Vanity Fair
Sean Connery and Michael Caine Vanity Fair
Hilary Swank by Norman Jean Roy Vanity Fair

From James Joyce, Charlie Chaplin, Louise Brooks, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo to Kim Basinger, Drew Barrymore, pregnant Demi Moore, the Fire Fighters near Ground Zero in 2001, almost every celebrity passed trough Vanity Fair’s pages.

Alice White by Florence Vandamm 1928 Vanity Fair
Madonna by Mario Testino Vanity Fair

The Exhibition is structured in two – the first period 1913-1936 covering art, dance, music, film and architecture and the second period 1983-present times covering stars of film and theatre, athletes, style icons, business titans.

Julia Roberts by Herbert Ritts 1993 Vanity Fair
Helen Mirren by Lord Snowdon 1995 Vanity Fair
Josephine Baker by George Hoynigen Huene Vanity Fair
Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Joan Crawford by Nickolas Murray 1929 Vanity Fair

I’ve searched the internet and came up with several photos to tour the exhibition (or at least a small part of it), I hope you enjoy it!

Adele and Fred Astaire Vanity Fair
Gloria Swanson by Edward Steichen 1924 Vanity Fair
Jean Harlow by George Hurre Vanity Fair
Jesse Owens by Lusha Nelson Vanity Fair
Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard Vanity Fair
Philip Johnson Vanity Fair
Louis Armstrong by Anton Bruehl 1935 Vanity Fair
Virginia Woolf Vanity Fair

The first group of pictures is (in order of appearance): Julianne Moore, Liza Minnelli, The Hollywood Cover by Annie Leibovitz (from left, Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve, Meryl Streep, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Vanessa Redgrave, Kate Winslet, Chloe Sevigny, Sophia Loren and Penelope Cruz). The second group of pictures is: Run DMC, Sean Connery and Michael Caine, Hilary Swank. The third group: Alice White and Madonna. The fourth group: Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Joan Crawford, Helen Mirren, Josephine Baker, Julia Roberts. The fifth group: Adele and Fred Astaire, Gloria Swanson, Jean Harlow, Jesse Owens, Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard, Louis Armstrong, Philip Johnson, Virginia Woolf.

4 comments

#1 Anna on 03.13.08 at 10:09 am

the place to be that National Portrait Gallery :) fabulous exhibition! some pictures are really breathtaking…

#2 Madonna Takes Cover for Vanity Fair May 2008 Issue — StyleFrizz on 03.27.08 at 4:24 pm

[…] Vanity Fair’s Green Issue cover for May is grey. White writing. Bathing suite fierce looking Madonna with, yes, the same type of boots as for those others magazines (at least she ditched the boxing theme for vanity’s sake). I know it must be hard for an artist to promote a new album, but isn’t she going too far now? We all got the message – she’s having a new album, now it would be wise to back up a little on the photoshop teasing so we won’t grow tired of it already, before it actually hits stores. But that’s just me. Maybe you feel really impressed by her invading more and more magazine space and that actually makes you more curious about the album? […]

#3 Julianne Moore Covers Vogue Paris May 2008 — StyleFrizz on 04.19.08 at 5:41 am

[…] hearing about who’s going to cover Paris Vogue May Issue, I expected a discreet but glacial-looking Julianne Moore. Because that’s her […]

#4 More Beautiful Light « Diana Lundin — Behind the Picture on 10.10.08 at 11:14 am

[…] course. It’s been a blast so far. Last class, we tried imitating the light on a portrait of Julianne Moore in Vanity Fair, which is heavily Photoshopped and has a very painterly quality to it. One of the […]

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