New Smithsonian show highlights the man who captured Hollywood’s Golden Era

When Vanity Fair published this portrait in 1935, it noted that Jean Harlow had “astounded her public by developing from the platinum blonde siren of “Hell’s Angels” into an expert comedienne who, in “Red Dust” and “Dinner at Eight,” became simultaneously a box office sensation and the critics’ delight.” (Courtesy Smithsonian Institution)

A portrait of Dorothy Lamour, remembered by many for her recurring role as the love interest in a series of antic comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. (Courtesy Smithsonian Institution)

This portrait of Spencer Tracy was created to publicize “Libeled Lady”, the 1936 comedy starring Tracy, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy and William Powell. (Courtesy Smithsonian Institution)

George Hurrell photographed Johnny Weissmuller to promote the film “Tarzan Escapes,” released in 1936. (Courtesy Smithsonian Institution)

Clark Gable and Joan Crawford appeared together in eight films between 1931 and 1940. Hurrell created this double portrait to promote their 1936 romantic comedy, “Love on the Run.” (Courtesy Smithsonian Institution)

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George Hurrell knew how to take a picture. That’s why he was the man film studios called to capture their stars during Hollywood’s Golden Era.

More than 20 of Hurrell’s stunning black and white images are now on display at a new exhibit at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. The exhibit includes portraits of leading stars of that era, such as Clark Gable, John Barrymore and Jean Harlow, the original blond bombshell.

“I think the exhibition gives viewers an opportunity to step back in time and think about the way in which studios promoted their stars back in the 1930s and early 40s,” said Ann Shumard, senior curator of photographs for the National Portrait Gallery. “The studio bosses had tremendous control over the stars who were under contract to them.”

That included complete authority over a star’s public image. Shumard said Hurrell’s images are meticulously crafted to promote the glitz and glamour the studio system was selling.

Hurrell was born in 1904 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and first pursued painting before switching over to photography. His Hollywood career took off in 1930 when he was hired as MGM’s principal in-studio portrait photographer before branching out and opening his own studio in 1933 on Sunset Boulevard. He later became the head of photography for Warner Bros.

Greta Garbo, whose portrait is among those displayed, apparently announced she would never work for that “crazy man” again, after Hurrell tried to make the stone-faced star smile during a photo shoot.

Shumard said even if visitors aren’t familiar with every Hollywood actor in the collections, “the quality of his portraits is such that you can enjoy them purely as superb examples of Hollywood photography at its peak.”

Star Power: Photographs from Hollywood’s Golden Age by George Hurrell is on display at the National Portrait Gallery from March 1 through Jan. 5, 2025.

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