George Hurrell (American, 1904-1992)
Johnny Weissmuller, 1930
Gelatin silver print
48 x 36 in.
Gift of Robert Brooks
Located on the first floor of Chambers Building, you have probably walked past this photograph more than once since the semester began. This piece and the one of Dorothy Lamour that hangs alongside always catch my eye without fail. Both are undoubtedly handsome individuals, and it is only accentuated in these portraits.
The bold display of masculinity is portrayed through a delicate lens. A muscular man is shown to be casting a glance off to the side whilst leaning forward, the pose reminiscent of a swimmer emerging from a pool. His skin looks smooth and his hair looks soft. The photograph makes him appear to be glowing, a delicate and recurring technique in George Hurrell’s portraits. The side of his face where the light is hitting looks very relaxed, with a blank expression. When you shift your eyes over to the left and scan the other side of his face where the shadows are casted, he looks pensive and potentially angry. Try covering one half of his face, observing it, and then switch sides. It is startling how much the contrast of the shadows affects how the viewer perceives the facial expression.
Johnny Weissmuller was an American actor born on June 2nd, 1904, in Romania. He was a five-time gold medalist in Olympic swimming (one bronze) and also starred in twelve Tarzan movies as Tarzan. He passed away at the age of 79 on January 20, 1984, in Acapulco, Mexico. This photo of him truly does him justice as a respected athlete and actor. How else could you capture the essence of someone as illustrious as him?
– Barbara Lopez ‘28
George Edward Hurrell (American, 1904-1992) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to a father of English descent and a German mother. He received his education from Chicago Art Institute and took night classes at the Academy of Fine Arts. Though Hurrell is known as a photographer, he also enjoyed painting. Accompanying Edgar Alwyn Payne to Laguna Beach as an apprentice would lead to his professional career taking headshots of Hollywood stars and his hiring as a portrait photographer for the MGM. Hurrell served in WWII and continued to work as a photographer afterwards.