Sometimes it’s easy to forget how the work of past generations has provided a foundation for what we do today. The amazing work of artists like Alfred Cheney Johnston, however, are being rediscovered by photographers, like myself, looking to the past to see what was possible before conveniently available film and digital mediums.
Johnston made his mark from 1916 through the beginning of the Great Depression photographing performers for Florenz Ziegfeld’s Ziegfeld’s Follies. Anyone interested in portraiture, especially that which features the female form, can learn a thing or two from his images. I’m just amazed at the sophistication of the technique and style he managed at such an early time in photography.
Hazel Forbes, 1928
Barbara Stanwyck, 1924
Caryl Bergman, 1929 (cropped for detail)
More images can be found online, including on flickr.
#1 by Cat Sparks on March 19, 2009 - 6:46 am
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I just love these. Just look at the hands in all three too. Beautiful.