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 “Golden Age’s” greatest stars. “They were truly glamorous people,” he recalled, “and that was the image I wanted to portray.”
In 1933, Hurrell left MGM to open a photography studio on Sunset Boulevard. There, he created some of his most iconic portraits of MGM stars as well as memorable images of leading actors from the other major studios. After closing his Sunset studio in 1938, Hurrell worked briefly for Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures before serving with a military film production unit during World War II.
Following the war, candid photographs, made with portable, small-format cameras, rose to replace the meticulously crafted, large-format studio portraits that epitomized Hurrell’s style. For George Hurrell, Hollywood’s “Golden Age” had come to an end. “When we stopped using those 8 x 10 cameras,” he declared, “the glamour was gone.”
This exhibition has been made possible in part through the generous support of Mark and Cindy Aron.
Star Power
Photographs from Hollywood’s Golden Age by George Hurrell
until 4 January, 2026
National Portrait Gallery
8th and G Streets NW
Washington, DC 20001
https://npg.si.edu
Clark Gable 1901–1960 Joan Crawford c. 1904–1977
Loretta Young 1913–2000
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson 1878–1949
Rosalind Russell 1907–1976
Marlene Dietrich 1901–1992
Irene Dunne 1898–1990
Jimmy Durante 1893–1980
Myrna Loy 1905–1993
Claudette Colbert 1903–1996
William Powell 1892–1984
James Wong Howe 1899–1976
Dorothy Lamour 1914–1996
Joan Crawford c. 1904–1977
Merle Oberon 1911–1979
Gypsy Rose Lee 1911–1970
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. 1909–2000
Jean Harlow 1911–1937
Greta Garbo 1905–1990
Johnny Weissmuller 1904–1984
John Barrymore 1882–1942
