Movie Premier, Hollywood

Artist Robert Frank (American, born Switzerland, 1924 - 2019)

Date1956; printed 1970s

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsImage: 12 7/16 × 8 3/8 inches (31.59 × 21.27 cm)
Sheet: 13 15/16 × 11 inches (35.4 × 27.94 cm)

Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Object number2005.27.3992

InscribedOn sheet recto, lower left, in black pen: "HOLLYWOOD 1956"; On sheet verso, lower right corner, in pencil: "MOVIE PREMIERE-HOLLYWOOD / AMERICANS 66 / ARCHIVE 1056".

MarkingsOn sheet verso, upper left corner, in pencil: "$1600"; On sheet verso, upper right corner, in pencil: "R"; On sheet verso, upper left, in pencil: "239 / 5-200 [scratched out] / 76".

On View

Not on view

Collections

Photography

Terms

DescriptionBlurred portrait of a woman in off the shoulder evening gown. Multiple figures in background are in focus.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Faces: an Exhibition from the Hallmark Photographic Collection. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, September 16 -October 21, 1984, no cat

American Photographs: Selections From The Hallmark Photographic Collection at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Mulvane Art Museum, Topeka, KS, September 15 - September 29, 2006, no cat.

In the Public Eye: Photography and Fame. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, March 8 - June 15, 2008, no cat.

Rotation 16. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, January 2014 – August, 2014, no cat.

Gallery Label

In this view from The Americans, an unnamed starlet (probably Kim Novak) passes before a group of fans, who are rendered in sharper focus than the actress. Frank uses selective focus to powerful effect, suggesting the idea of the modern entertainer as an empty vessel to be filled with the projected longings of an anonymous public.

Provenance

Edwynn Houk Gallery, Chicago, IL;
Purchased from Edwynn Houk Gallery by Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City, MO, 1983;
Given by Hallmark Cards, Inc. to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2005

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