Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery Presents Second Installation of George Hurrell Hollywood Portraits
The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., is showcasing a second installment of Star Power: Photographs from Hollywood's Golden Age by George Hurrell, which runs until January 10, 2027. This exhibition displays 20 vintage portraits selected from the museum's collection of 70 Hurrell images. Born in Covington, Kentucky, in 1904, Hurrell initially studied painting at the Art Institute of Chicago before shifting to photography in the 1920s. He served as MGM's leading portrait photographer and later established a studio on Sunset Boulevard. After World War II, he returned to Hollywood in the mid-1950s and experienced a resurgence of interest in the 1980s. Hurrell passed away in Los Angeles in 1992, and the exhibition features portraits of icons like Joan Crawford and Marlene Dietrich.
Key facts
- Star Power: Photographs from Hollywood's Golden Age by George Hurrell is on view at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., through January 10, 2027.
- The second installation features 20 vintage portraits from the museum's collection of 70 Hurrell photographs.
- George Hurrell was born in Covington, Kentucky, in 1904 and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio.
- Hurrell joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's publicity department at age 25 and became its principal portrait photographer.
- He left MGM in 1933 and opened a photography studio on Sunset Boulevard, closing it in 1938.
- After World War II, candid small-format photography replaced his large-format studio portraits.
- Hurrell died in Los Angeles in 1992 at age 87.
- His photographs are held by the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Library of Congress.
Entities
Artists
- George Hurrell
- Marlene Dietrich
- Dorothy Lamour
- Clark Gable
- Joan Crawford
- Myrna Loy
- Greta Garbo
- Jean Harlow
- Barbara Stanwyck
- Mary Pickford
- Charles "Buddy" Rogers
- Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
- Sharon Stone
Institutions
- National Portrait Gallery
- Smithsonian
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Warner Bros.
- Columbia Pictures
- J. Paul Getty Museum
- Museum of Modern Art
- Library of Congress
- PetaPixel
Locations
- Washington, D.C.
- United States
- Covington
- Kentucky
- Cincinnati
- Ohio
- Chicago
- California
- Sunset Boulevard
- Los Angeles
- New York