WILLIAM MORTENSEN A Revival The Archive 33

In the late 1920s through early 1940s, his star was ascending, seemingly without end. Based in Laguna Beach, California, William Herbert Mortensen was a photographer to many of Hollywood's most famous, working with such acclaimed figures as Fay Wray, Cecil B. deMille and Marlene Dietrich. While his "pictorialist" style of photography -- painterly and posh, relying on soft-focus and darkroom knowhow to produced luxuriously toned and finished prints -- was favored by the stars. Mortensen found himself on the wrong side of history when it came to fine arts photography. The new "purist" movement, which celebrated the "straight," unadorned, print and a more documentarian style, was afoot and found no place for the Gothic-inspired Mortensen. This book features essays by Michael Dawson, Diane Dillon, A.D. Coleman, Larry Lytle, and Amy Rule. Includes numerous images and an extensive chronology and  bibliographical references and index. Out of Print. Condition: Very Fine.