MoMA's 'Face Value' Explores Pre-Digital Celebrity Photo Manipulation
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York is set to showcase 'Face Value: Celebrity Press Photography', marking its first significant exhibition of Hollywood studio portraiture from its film stills archive since 1993. This exhibition will run from June 28, 2025, to June 21, 2026, in the Titus and Morita Galleries, featuring over 200 pieces spanning from 1921 to 1996. Curators Ron Magliozzi, Katie Trainor, and Cara Shatzman will explore pre-digital editorial methods like silhouetting and collage that influenced celebrity imagery. Notable figures represented include Louis Armstrong, Bette Davis, and Oprah Winfrey, alongside sports and political icons like Jackie Robinson and Eleanor Roosevelt. Highlights feature Otto Dyar's original 'Carole Lombard' (c. 1933) and James Manatt's modified Joan Crawford portrait from 'Letty Lynton' (1932). The exhibition also acknowledges MoMA's film stills collection origins, initiated by founding curator Iris Barry, who obtained archives from Photoplay and Dell. A video installation will display Danny Williams' footage of Edie Sedgwick at Andy Warhol's Silver Factory (c. 1965, processed 2024).
Key facts
- Exhibition runs June 28, 2025 to June 21, 2026 at MoMA, New York
- First major exhibition of Hollywood studio portraiture from MoMA's film stills archive since 1993
- Over 200 works from 1921 to 1996
- Curated by Ron Magliozzi, Katie Trainor, and Cara Shatzman
- Features over 58 photographers and subjects including Louis Armstrong, Harry Belafonte, Clara Bow, Louise Brooks, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Katharine Hepburn, Dennis Hopper, Lena Horne, Bela Lugosi, Carmen Miranda, Elvis Presley, Diana Ross, Barbara Stanwyck, Elizabeth Taylor, Spencer Tracy, Oprah Winfrey, Jackie Robinson, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Eleanor Roosevelt
- Examines pre-digital editing techniques: silhouetting, in-painting, masking, sectioning, collage
- Includes Otto Dyar's 'Carole Lombard' (c. 1933) and James Manatt's Joan Crawford portrait for 'Letty Lynton' (1932)
- Traces collection origins to Iris Barry, MoMA's first film curator, who acquired Photoplay and Dell archives
- Features Danny Williams footage of Edie Sedgwick at Andy Warhol's Silver Factory (c. 1965, processed 2024)
Entities
Artists
- Ron Magliozzi
- Katie Trainor
- Cara Shatzman
- Iris Barry
- Otto Dyar
- James Manatt
- Bob Beerman
- Ray Jones
- Clarence Sinclair Bull
- Adolph L. Schafer
- Irving Lippman
- Hal Phyfe
- Imandt
- Gene Lester
- Louis Armstrong
- Harry Belafonte
- Clara Bow
- Louise Brooks
- Bette Davis
- Mia Farrow
- Katharine Hepburn
- Dennis Hopper
- Lena Horne
- Bela Lugosi
- Carmen Miranda
- Elvis Presley
- Diana Ross
- Barbara Stanwyck
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Spencer Tracy
- Oprah Winfrey
- Jackie Robinson
- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- Eleanor Roosevelt
- Carole Lombard
- Joan Crawford
- Rock Hudson
- Jean Simmons
- Margaret Sullavan
- Hedy Lamarr
- Rosalind Russell
- Mischa Auer
- George Raft
- Miriam Hopkins
- Dorothy Gish
- Joan Bennett
- Buster Keaton
- W. C. Fields
- Lupe Velez
- Mae West
- Hattie McDaniel
- Ruby Berkley
- Amelia Earhart
- Marilyn Monroe
- Anna May Wong
- Edie Sedgwick
- Gerard Malanga
- Benedetta Barzini
- Ingrid Superstar
- Nat Finkelstein
- Danny Williams
- Andy Warhol
- Joan Fontaine
- Dean Martin
- Jeanne Martin
- Elizabeth Threatt
- Dewey Martin
- Dorothy Malone
- Anthony Quinn
- André De Toth
- Veronica Lake
- Edmund O'Brien
- Tom D'Andrea
- Ward Bond
- Ida Lupino
- Aldo Ray
- Michael Wilding Jr.
- Christopher Wilding
- Eddie Fisher
- Caroline Kennedy
- John F. Kennedy Jr.
- Jason Persse
- Dr Marcus Bunyan
- Jonathan Dorado
Institutions
- The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- MoMA Department of Film
- MoMA Film Library
- Photoplay
- Dell
- Titus and Morita Galleries
- Art Blart
Locations
- New York
- United States