The Michael Hoppen Gallery is delighted to announce an exhibition of enduring photographs from the John Kobal Foundation, encapsulating the golden era of Hollywood.

Spanning a period of over 25 years the exhibition will include portraits of Greta Garbo, Marlon Brando, Marlene Dietrich, Grace Kelly, and Rita Hayworth – the bold and the beautiful. Captured in dramatic black and white by photographers Clarence Sinclair Bull, George Hurrell, Laszlo Willinger, Ted Allan and ER Richee amongst others, these portraits immortalised the stars of yesteryear. Such studio portraits and film stills made a significant contribution to the Hollywood Film Industry of the period especially in the heyday of the studio system (1920 – 1950) by transforming mere actors and actresses into cultural and style icons.

All of the photographs in the exhibition are from the John Kobal Foundation archive. Kobal was a renowned authority on cinema and on Hollywood portrait photography and founded one of the world’s leading collections of film photography. Before his death in 1991, John Kobal established The John Kobal Foundation, to which he donated his personal archive of Hollywood negatives and fine art prints. Funds raised from the exploitation and sale of these items are used to encourage aspiring portrait photographers and help advance the general appreciation of portrait photography.