Victor Keppler (American, 1904-1987), New Year’s Eve and Time Square, ca.1950, Kodachrome transparency.

Nickolas Muray (American 1892-1965), AMERICAN CYANAMID, 1945, Carbro print, © Estate of Nickolas Muray

Nickolas Muray (American 1892-1965) A&P COFFEE, SANTA CLAUS, 1958, Carbro print, © Estate of Nickolas Muray

Born in Hungary in 1892, Nickolas Muray immigrated to the United States in 1913, working first as a printer and then opening a photographic portrait studio in
Greenwich Village in 1920. He became well known for his celebrity portraits, publishing them regularly in Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Ladies’ Home Journal, and The New York Times. After 1930, Muray turned away from celebrity and theatrical portraiture, and became a pioneering commercial photographer, famous for establishing many of the conventions of color advertising. He is considered the master of the three-color carbro process.

A colorful and charismatic character, Muray was a pilot, a member of the US Olympic fencing team, and the long-time lover of Frida Kahlo, whom he regularly photographed in some of his best-known work. He was a distinguished art collector, best known for his collection of twentieth-century Mexican paintings, and a regular columnist for the magazine Dance.

In 1974, Muray’s archive was donated to George Eastman House. The gift included approximately 25,000 images including photographic prints, negatives, transparencies and advertising tear sheets.

Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal of Sherlock Holmes just earned him a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor (the new film opens Christmas Day). But, another famed actor brought it to the big screen first — John Barrymore.

Sherlock Holmes from 1922 was the most sought-after “lost” John Barrymore film. However, it is not only no longer lost— restored in recent years by George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film— but it is now available on DVD.

Barrymore in Sherlock Holmes, recently restored by George Eastman House

As a world leader in film preservation efforts, Eastman House has many stories to tell about the restoration of films once thought lost.  However, the story behind Sherlock Holmes is particularly interesting. 

A print of this important silent film was rediscovered in the 1970s by then-Eastman House film curator James Card. However, the film was not complete. In the 1990s a print containing the missing original intertitles was found within the Eastman House vaults, and a major restoration was undertaken.  

Using the two prints, titles were digitally remastered and each frame restored. This project was funded by the National Film Preservation Foundation as part of a $1 million grant titled “Saving the Silents.” Sherlock Holmes is one of 19 titles from the George Eastman House collection restored by that funding. 

The project took preservation staff at Eastman House two years to complete, with the premiere of the restored film taking place at Eastman House’s Dryden Theatre on Jan. 12, 2003. It has since been screened worldwide at film festivals and archives. 

Silent films represent the work of America’s first filmmakers; yet fewer than 20 percent of all silent films survive today, since they were printed on highly flammable nitrate film stock and discarded after the advent of “talkies” in 1928. George Eastman House holds one of the largest silent film collections in the world. Other important restorations undertaken by George Eastman House in recent years include Snow White (1916), and The Lost World (1925), and The Big Parade(1925).  

The restored Sherlock Holmes (Albert Parker, US 1922, 97 min.) is a faithful adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original story (the film was in fact fully endorsed by Doyle in 1922). The film stars screen idol Barrymore as Holmes, aided by the ubiquitous Dr. Watson, battles wits with sinister arch-nemesis Professor Moriarty.

Sherlock Holmes not only provided Barrymore with one of his most prestigious early roles, but also presented the screen debuts of two notable actors: William Powell (The Thin Man) and Roland Young (Topper). The DVD, available on Kino International, was mastered from Eastman House’s 35mm restoration, and is accompanied by a score by Ben Model, performed on the Miditzer Virtual Theatre Organ. 

To purchase a copy of Sherlock Holmes on DVD, visit Kino International at www.kino.com/video/item.php?film_id=979

A colleague sent me a link to a blog post featuring this hilarious New Topographics T Shirt. We all want one!

The shirt was designed by Blake Andrews.

This time every  year, we are lucky to have folks contribute their gingerbread masterpieces to the Museum’s Sweet Creations Exhibit and auction. Kim Salisbury, who working with her sister Gig Mahar is a frequent participant in this popular exhibit, shares their story:

This year marked our 3rd entry for the Sweet Creations exhibit.  I started decorating cakes over 25 years ago and soon moved to cookies.  After my family and I moved back to Rochester in 1999, my sister, Gig and I decorated cookies each holiday.  She’s an artist and though I love the little details, together we took decorating to the extreme! (Family and friends often thought our treats were too beautiful to eat.)  Gig suggested we create something for the Eastman House and that we stray from the traditional by focusing on the inside of the house rather than the outside. 

Family Room

Our first gingerbread “room” was a family room, complete with fireplace, Christmas tree, cozy furniture and a table set for a meal!  The dining furniture had legs made of cinnamon sticks (the humidity caused the gingerbread legs to collapse).   Our second “room” was a kitchen featuring a tiny gingerbread house project in progress.  This year, our “child’s bedroom” has bunk beds for two sisters!  Their Christmas dresses hang on the door ready for a festive gathering and green pj’s lay ready on their beds! 

Kitchen with tiny gingerbread house in progress

Making a ‘room’ allowed us to use gingerbread to create cute elements such as a dresser, desk (with a top that opens) and bookshelf. We used fondant for Christmas decorations, clothing, tiny shoes, and posters painted with food coloring- including one of Hunt Hollow- and adorable bedding.  You will see that one sister is tidy and made her bed while the other has left her covers strewn about!  The bunk beds were constructed with cinnamon sticks after the first one collapsed – again, the humidity!

Bunk beds for the sisters

Fondant is like modeling clay and with a little practice, easy to work with.  It was even used to create the rug (fashioned after Pottery Barn) and the wood floor.  For the floor, brown coloring was added to fondant, but not mixed thoroughly so the brown was inconsistent.  It was then rolled out, cut into strips and laid down like real floor boards. 

Important tools for this project include Exacto knives, toothpicks, straight edge rulers, frosting tips and anything else that suites our needs (pencils with erasers removed, comb edges etc…). Our final touches were the stuffed animals and pets that our own daughters have adored!  This year the actual gingerbread baking was especially easy as it was done in the bakery at Lanovara Specialty Foods, purchased by my husband Bert and I two years ago. 

Gig and I always wish we had time to create more little tiny details to add to our rooms!  We love this project and supporting the Eastman house!