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James Abbe

photograph

Description

Maker

James Abbe (American, 1883-1973)

Title

photograph

Year

1919

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Dimensions

23.6 x 18.7 cm (9 5/16 x 7 3/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signed LR in red crayon:Abbe

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Mary B. Jackson Fund

Object Number

76.060

Type

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Facing Artists
Twentieth Century Portraits from the Collection
Feb 27, 2009 – Jul 31, 2009

Label copy

James Abbe photographed the leading luminaries of theater and film in the 1920s and ’30s, helping to launch the phenomenon of media-promoted celebrity. This

photograph of the actor John Barrymore (American, 1882-1942) was taken in New York during the run of The Jest. Barrymore challenged Abbe to photograph him

on the play’s set, rather than in a studio, a practice that was virtually unheard of at the time. Abbe did so, and his pictures of actors on theater and film sets thereafter

became a personal trademark.

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

James Abbe (American, 1883-1973)
photograph, 1919
Gelatin silver print
23.6 x 18.7 cm (9 5/16 x 7 3/8 inches)
Mary B. Jackson Fund 76.060

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