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Vanity Fair Portraits at LACMA

Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913–2008 is the first major exhibition to bring together the magazine’s historic archive of rare vintage prints with its contemporary photographs. The exhibition explores the ways in which photography and celebrity have interacted and changed, with portraits from the magazine’s early period (1913–1936) displayed in conjunction with works from the contemporary Vanity Fair (1983–present). The Los Angeles presentation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), which is sponsored by Burberry, will be the only U.S. stop on the exhibition’s international tour. It runs from today October 26, 2008 through March 1, 2009 at the Hammer Building. Photographers featured include Cecil Beaton, Harry Benson, Julian Broad, Imogen Cunningham, Annie Leibovitz, Man Ray, Mary Ellen Mark, Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, Mario Testino, Edward Steichen, and Bruce Weber. The arresting portrait of Gloria Swanson by Edward Steichen in 1924 (pictured above) drew me in to visit the exhibit sometime soon.

I received an invitation to become a LACMA member at active level for only $49 (a 45% discount), which includes free admission to all exhibitions, including Vanity Fair Portraits and the upcoming Hearst the Collector, a 1 year subscription to Vanity Fair magazine, priority access on members-only preview days, discounts at the museum’s stores, among others. Let me know if you need the promo code for this offer, which expires on October 31. I’ll report back after my visit to the exhibit.

Image Credit: Edward Steichen, A Much Screened Lady—Gloria Swanson, 1924 (detail),© Condé Nast Publications Inc./Courtesy George Eastman House.