Portraits

Jacques Sonck: Portraits

Jacques Sonck: Portraits

FIFTY ONE TOO is proud to present ‘Portraits’ by Belgian photographer Jacques Sonck (°1949), an exhibition filled with unique individuals and accidental encounters. Sonck’s first solo show at the gallery, will focus on his purified black-and-white street portraits and will bring together both old and new work. Jacques Sonck shoots classical analogue black-and-white portraits with an eye for the extraordinary.…
Vintage: Portraits by Ruth Harriet Louise (1920s)

Vintage: Portraits by Ruth Harriet Louise (1920s)

Ruth Harriet Louise (1903 – 1940) was an American professional photographer, the first woman photographer active in Hollywood; she ran Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s portrait studio from 1925 to 1930. Louise began working as a portrait photographer in 1922, working out of a music store down the block from the New Brunswick temple at which her father was a rabbi. Most of her…
George Platt Lynes: Portraits, Nudes, & Dance

George Platt Lynes: Portraits, Nudes, & Dance

Keith de Lellis Gallery showcases the portrait photography of noted fashion photographer and influential artist George Platt Lynes (American, 1907–1955) in its spring exhibition. Though largely concealed during his lifetime (or published under pseudonyms), Lynes’ male nude photographs are perhaps his most notable works today and inspired later artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe and Herb Ritts. Primarily self-taught, Lynes was…
Hiroshi Sugimoto: Portraits

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Portraits

At first glance, Hiroshi Sugimoto’s photographic portrait of King Henry VIII of England is arresting: his camera has captured the tactility of Henry’s luxurious furs and silks, the elaborate embroidery of his doublet, and the light reflecting off of each shimmering jewel. The contours of the king’s face are so lifelike that he appears to be almost three- dimensional. It…
Evgeny Matveev: Portraits of young women

Evgeny Matveev: Portraits of young women

A series of portraits in which the attempt is made to see and convey the elusive beauty of the young woman. All photos shot in St. Petersburg, Russia. ‘Portraits of young women’ was the Black & White Portrait Series of the Year 3rd place Winner in the MonoVisions Photography Awards 2017 ‘Portraits of young women’ was the Black & White…
Vintage: Portrait Postcards of the German Actresses (1910s-1920s)

Vintage: Portrait Postcards of the German Actresses (1910s-1920s)

The German film industry (during Weimar Republic), which was protected during the war by the ban on foreign films import, became exposed at the end of the war to the international film industry while having to face an embargo, this time on its own films. Many countries banned the import of German films and audiences themselves were resisting anything that…
Vintage: Portraits of Zsa Zsa Gabor (1950s)

Vintage: Portraits of Zsa Zsa Gabor (1950s)

Zsa Zsa Gabor died exactly 1 year ago at the age of 99 of cardiac arrest at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, on December 18, 2016. Gabor began her stage career in Vienna and was crowned Miss Hungary in 1936. She emigrated from Hungary to the United States in 1941. Becoming a sought-after actress with “European flair and style”, she…
Vintage: Glass Plate Negatives Portraits of Victorian Era Ladies (1860s-1870)

Vintage: Glass Plate Negatives Portraits of Victorian Era Ladies (1860s-1870)

Glass plates were far superior to film for research-quality imaging because they were extremely stable and less likely to bend or distort, especially in large-format frames for wide-field imaging. Early plates used the wet collodion process. The wet plate process was replaced late in the 19th century by gelatin dry plates. Glass plate photographic material largely faded from the consumer…
Top 10 Portraits of Edwardian Era Actresses

Top 10 Portraits of Edwardian Era Actresses

Some of the most beautiful women in England (and many from Europe and the USA) trod the boards of the many theatres to be found in London’s West End in those halcyon days. Women like Gabrielle Ray, Lily Elsie, Pauline Chase, the sisters Dare, and of course my own particular favourites Gertie Millar and Ellaline Terriss. Many of these actresses…
Vintage: Portrait of Miss Lily Elsie (1900s and 1910s)

Vintage: Portrait of Miss Lily Elsie (1900s and 1910s)

Lily Elsie’s biggest success came in creating the title role in the English-language version of The Merry Widow in the London production. Edwardes took Elsie to see the original German version (Die Lustige Witwe) in Berlin. Elsie was at first reluctant to take on the demanding part, thinking her voice too light for the role, but Edwardes persuaded her to…
Vintage: Cléo de Mérode Portraits (1890s and 1900s)

Vintage: Cléo de Mérode Portraits (1890s and 1900s)

Posing for many photographers who diffuse her image worldwide, in newspapers and postcards, she is elected Beauty Queen in 1896 among various celebrities. The same year, she enhances her fame when a white marble sculpture, La Danseuse, by Alexandre Falguière, is said to have been moulded on her body; facing a public scandal, she claims she only lent her features…
Vintage: Victorian Era Portraits by Lady Clementina Hawarden (1860s)

Vintage: Victorian Era Portraits by Lady Clementina Hawarden (1860s)

Lady Clementina Hawarden (1 June 1822-19 January 1865) was a noted portrait photographer of the 1860s. Hawarden first began to experiment with photography in 1857, taking stereoscopic landscape photographs before moving to large-format, stand-alone portraits of her daughters. Much of Hawarden’s life remains a mystery to us. It is doubtful that she kept a diary as nothing has been discovered,…
Vintage: Victorian Era Portraits by Julia Margaret Cameron (1860s-1870s)

Vintage: Victorian Era Portraits by Julia Margaret Cameron (1860s-1870s)

In 1863, when Cameron was 48 years old, her daughter gave her a camera as a present, thereby starting her career as a photographer. Within a year, Cameron became a member of the Photographic Societies of London and Scotland. She remained a member of the Photographic Society, London, until her death. In her photography, Cameron strove to capture beauty. She…
Vintage: Portraits of First Miss Europe in 1929

Vintage: Portraits of First Miss Europe in 1929

Miss Europe was a first annual beauty pageant with female contestants from all over Europe. It was established in February 1929 by French journalist Maurice de Waleffe, who also created, in 1920, what by 1927 had become the Miss France pageant. Miss Europa was first held at the Paris Opera with participants from 18 countries. The most recent pageant was…
Mark Seliger: On Christopher Street: Portraits

Mark Seliger: On Christopher Street: Portraits

On Christopher Street is a portrait series of transgender individuals shot between 2013 and 2016 with a medium format camera in the West Village of New York City. Bree Benz is statuesque in a black shift dress posed calmly in the center of the road. M. David Soliven’s business casual cardigan catches a few rain drops outside a row of…
Vintage: Studio Portraits of Girls with Cat by Arnold Genthe (1910s)

Vintage: Studio Portraits of Girls with Cat by Arnold Genthe (1910s)

Arnold Genthe (1869 – 1942) was a German-born American photographer. Genthe had earned a doctorate in Philology before deciding to pursue photography in the early 20th century. Beginning in 1906, Genthe photographed a number of socialites and young girls with a cat he named Buzzer. Using four different cats all named Buzzer, the series of photographs spans over ten years.…