Jessica Johnston is an Assistant Curator in the Department of Photographs at George Eastman House. She manages numerous exhibitions and projects at the museum including our recent participation on the Flickr Commons.
Spring must be on its way! When I arrived at work this morning the snow had melted to reveal a carpet of sweet Winter aconites! Thanks to the Museum Photographer for recording the first sign of spring 2010 at George Eastman House.
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.
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.
Every fall volunteers gather in the Eastman House barn to plant bulbs in preparation for the upcoming winter’s Dutch Connection! This year we had a great turnout and can’t wait to see the bulbs come to life in 2010.
Inspired by a bulb order placed by Mr. Eastman over 100 years ago, this yearly offering of flowers in Feburary is a welcome respite from the Rochester winter. It features more than 2,000 tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, freesias, and amaryllis in bloom in the Eastman House conservatory.
Please think about becoming a member or volunteering at George Eastman House!