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Image

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James Abbe

photograph

Description

Maker

James Abbe (American, 1883-1973)

Title

photograph

Year

1919

Medium

  • gelatin silver print

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • gelatin silver print

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

  • Photographs

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.

Use & Feedback

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

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

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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