formed the actress into a sultry siren and created the
photographs that would land her the role. Thalberg
and Shearer were so impressed with Hurrell’s work
that MGM studio’s publicity department hired the
photographer in 1930. For the next two years, Hur-
rell photographed every star at MGM, including
Joan Crawford and Jean Harlow, his work setting
a new standard for portraiture in Hollywood.
Hurrell’s success was attributed to a photographic
expertise that developed from the perfection of sev-
eral techniques he had learned over the years. His
formula for portrait lighting included attaching a
spotlight to a boom arm, which could be carefully
positioned to cast highlights on the subject’s hair. He
then added a softer key light placed slightly above
and in front of the subject’s face emulating natural
light, and he illuminated the background with a floor
lamp. Hurrell carefully adjusted the lighting to add
dimension and drama to his photographs. In addi-
tion, he developed a retouching process, with the
help of an assistant, that was so refined his subjects
were asked not wear makeup during their sessions.
Powdered graphite was applied to the negatives with
a blending stump to accentuate the skin’s highlights.
This technique, in addition to the careful printing of
his negatives, would yield a smooth, flawlessly lumi-
nous, yet lifelike quality to his subject’s skin tone.
Remarking about Hurrell’s style, actress Loretta
Young commented, ‘‘[your skin] looked like you
couldtouchit.’’
From 1930 through the 1950s, Hurrell’s career as
a photographer flourished, but guided by a restless
spirit; he worked at various studios as well as run-
ning an independent freelance business. By 1932, life
at MGM for him was troublesome; after a disagree-
ment with the head of publicity Howard Strickling,
he left to set up his own studio on Sunset Boulevard.
Hurrell’s business prospered as stars flocked to his
studio for portraits. After six years, the photogra-
pher moved to Warner Brothers, helping establish
the careers of stars Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart,
Errol Flynn, and James Cagney. His talents for
portraiture were needed during World War II, and
Hurrell found service with the First Motion Picture
Unit of the U.S. Army Air Force, where he shot
training films and photographed generals at the
Pentagon. He returned to Hollywood after the
war, but soon found that the old style of glamour
photography was out of fashion. Hurrell worked on
the east and west coasts shooting advertising and
fashion layouts through the 1950s, and he started a
television production company with his wife, Phyl-
lis, in 1952. He settled in Southern California per-
manently in 1956 returning to the film industry as a
unit still man.
Recognition for his life’s photographic work came
in the 1960s and continues to the present day. Hur-
rell’s first exhibition,Glamour Poses, opened at the
Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1965.
Throughout the 1970s, he published numerous com-
memorative books and special-edition prints of his
work. His reputation for creating glamour asso-
ciated with the golden years of Hollywood was
acknowledged by later generations of actors and
actresses, and he continued to photograph stars
including Liza Minelli, Paul Newman, and Robert
Redford in his characteristic style. After his retire-
ment in 1976, Hurrell continued to shoot portraits,
adding to his portfolio the faces of Hollywood stars
such as Sharon Stone, Brooke Shields, and John
Travolta. Among his last assignments during the
early 1990s were portraits of Warren Beatty and
Annette Bening for the movieBugsy,andsinger
Natalie Cole for the cover of the her albumUnfor-
gettable. In the last years of his life, Hurrell worked
with producer J. Grier Clarke and producer-director
Carl Colby onLegends in Light, the first television
documentary of his life and work. George Hurrell
died of cancer in 1992.
NancyBarrSeealso:Fashion Photography; Lighting and Light-
ing Equipment; Museum of Modern Art; PortraitureBiography
Born Covington, Kentucky, 1 June 1904. Attended Art Insti-
tute of Chicago, 1920. Assisted portrait photographer
Eugene Hutchinson, Chicago, 1924. Freelance photogra-
pher for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Film Studios 1930–1932.
With 20th Century-Fox while running his own studio, 1932–- Worked for Warner Brothers, 1935–1938. Staff photo-
grapher at the Pentagon, 1942–1946. Employed by Walt
Disney Studios, 1954–1956. Freelance production and pub-
licity still photographer for movies and television, 1960– - Retired, 1976. Died Van Nuys, California, 17 May
Individual Exhibitions
1965 Glamour Poses; Museum of Modern Art; New York,
New York
1977 Victoria and Albert Museum; London, England
1978 The Hurrell Style; Laguna Beach Museum; Laguna
Beach, California
Dreams for Sale; Municipal Art Gallery; Los Angeles,
California
1980 The Hurrell Style; Palm Springs Desert Museum; Palm
Springs, California
1987 Cincinnati Museum of Art; Cincinnati, Ohio
1988 Glamour and Allure: The Hollywood Photographs of
George Hurrell. Organized by the Smithsonian Institu-
tion Traveling Exhibitions (traveled nationally)HURRELL, GEORGE