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13/7/2008

Vanity Fair Portraits

Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh

150 remarkable and memorable photographic portraits from Vanity Fair magazine, that unique barometer of the modern age. Vintage works from Vanity Fair’s classic period (1913-36) are displayed alongside stunning photographs featured in the current-day magazine, now celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The sitters include some of the most influential individuals of the modern age, ranging from Claude Monet to Arthur Miller, Katharine Hepburn to David Hockney and Jesse Owens to Julia Roberts.

These portraits truly are works of art, created by many of the greatest photographers of all time, including Cecil Beaton, Edward Steichen, Man Ray, Annie Leibovitz and Mario Testino.

This section of the website allows you to obtain a feel for the exhibition before visiting. Take your time exploring some of the show’s major themes, and enjoy a preview of ten highlighted works.

Vintage Period

Vanity Fair was originally launched in 1913 by the visionary publisher Condé Nast, coinciding with the birth of modernism, the dawning of the Jazz Age and the introduction of avant-garde art to the American public. The magazine engaged with this vibrant modern culture; it commented upon and championed all that was at the forefront of change and innovation in the arts.

Its early period lasted until 1936 when economic conditions enforced a suspension of publication. Throughout, Vanity Fair remained a magazine in tune with its time, promoting the work of contemporary artists such as Picasso, publishing essays by new literary talent such as DH Lawrence, and upholding the genre of celebrity portraiture through the progressive work of photographers such as Man Ray and Cecil Beaton.

A New Magazine for a New Age

Vanity Fair lay dormant for nearly half a century, but in the early 1980s the magazine seemed ready to be roused from its slumber. A vibrant cosmopolitan spirit was coursing through the culture; the go-go 80s mirrored the 20s Jazz Age, the hothouse era that had given the earlier Vanity Fair its sizzle.

The magazine, revived in 1983, soon became the most influential American monthly, an arbiter of culture, taste, power and personality at the turn of the millennium. Vanity Fair took the pulse of the modern era whilst maintaining its bedrock of inventive photography.

Celebrity Sitters

From its original American inception, Vanity Fair was perfectly placed to chronicle the evolving iconography of the cinema within the context of the arts as a whole. By assigning the more significant photographers of the day to portray the early stars of the medium, and by placing their full-page portraits in proximity to those of eminent writers, artists and sportsmen, Vanity Fair increased the cultural status of the Hollywood celebrities of the 20s, 30s and 40s.

In recent times, the culture of important personalities has secured a stronger hold on the public psyche. The modern-day Vanity Fair has been crammed full of beautifully-shot photographs of the biggest stars: Julia Roberts, Clint Eastwood, Nicole Kidman, Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Julianne Moore and Robert De Niro, to name just a few.

Behind The Camera

Vanity Fair has always possessed a highly artistic approach to celebrity portraiture.

Ever since the Jazz Age, the magazine’s principal photographers have had a foot in both worlds – art and photography. Man Ray, a pioneer of Dadaism, was one of the magazine’s Paris portraitists. Photographer Cecil Beaton excelled as an illustrator, writer and caricaturist; later, he designed costumes and stage sets. Edward Steichen, who first gained reknown as an artist and photographer, was also among the 20th century’s foremost curators.

In recent times, the magazine has continued to employ the world’s most talented photographers. Harry Benson, Annie Leibovitz, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, Mario Testino and Bruce Weber are but a handful of the many artists who have created the iconic photographic portraits of the last twenty-five years whilst pushing the envelope of the genre.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery
1 Queen Street - Edinburgh
Admission: 6 P. (4 Pounds)

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