George Hurrell's Photography

While his timeless photographs are key artifacts in Hollywood history, many people do not know the man responsible for creating one of the most iconic lighting techniques in the world of photography. George Hurrell’s knack for photographing prominent figures in the early 1900’s led their fame to overpower his. This leads many people to seek out his photographs simply because of the stars in the pictures, not because it is his work. Born to an English family of successful shoemakers on June 1, 1904 in Cincinnati Ohio, Hurrell was not expected to become a photographer. He grew up in a Catholic family with four brothers and one sister. Much like his brothers and sisters who also pursued careers in religion, Hurrell initially signed up to become
Most importantly he began experimenting with photography. It was not until 1928 that he landed his first real photography job. Florence Leontine “Pancho” Barnes, whom he had met at Edgar Alwyn Payne’s family Christmas dinner in 1925 was Hurrell’s first model. The two had become good friends after meeting shortly after his arrival at Laguna Beach and often enjoyed partying and fishing together. Barnes had decided that she wanted to be a pilot, which was incredibly rare at the time. Orville Wright had a reputation for disregarding women as pilots and not signing off on their applications. In attempt to throw Orville off Barnes asked Hurrell to photograph her as a man. After taking the photos he felt bad for making her look so poor and begged her to let him retake them, this time with her looking like a proper lady. Barnes used these photos for her application and became a pilot, eventually becoming the first female Hollywood stunt pilot, set numerous speed records, and was Lockheed’s first female test pilot. It was these very
Without his innovative thinking and creative mind, most of history’s most iconic figures would not have been represented and remembered in the same light as they are. Florence “Pancho” Barnes may have never become a pilot, Roman Navarro may have ended his acting career, and Norma Shearer would have never won an Academy Award. Stars like Veronica Lake, Betty Garble Gruff, Marlene Detrich, Humphrey Bogart, and hundreds of others have had their careers forever preserved with his incredible photography. Today, photographers use the modern adaption of the boom light in all types of photography. While the Hurrell Style is not popular today it will forever be a timeless classic and will always make its appearance throughout time. As an aspiring photographer George Hurrell’s style of photography clearly represents what traditional portraiture means to me. His photography also represents the light in a time of darkness as his career was in full swing during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. He did not photograph those tragic times in history but instead kept focus on the positive things occurring in the country. Despite his fame often being overpowered by the stars he photographed, George Hurrell is in fact one of the most well-known and prominent figures in the history of