Where Celebrities + Art Meet: Vanity Fair Portraits at LACMA, Now-3/1/09

Thinking about what you want to do after Halloween is over? How about LACMA's new exhibit, Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008?

What: It's the first major exhibition to bring together the magazine's historic archive of rare vintage prints with its contemporary photographs, on view from October 26, 2008 through March 1, 2009. The exhibition explores the ways in which photography and celebrity have interacted and changed, with portraits from the magazine's early period (1913-1936) displayed in conjunction with works from the contemporary Vanity Fair (1983-present).

Why: The Los Angeles presentation, which is sponsored by Burberry, will be the only U.S. stop on the exhibition's international tour.

The exhibit of 130 photographs from 1913 to 2008, including iconic shots by our favorite, Annie Leibovitz, makes its only U.S. stop in Los Angeles. (Yes, we said it again.) Selected from the several hundred shoots directed by Leibovitz, portraits of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kate Winslet, Lance Armstrong, and George Clooney, as well as Leibovitz's signature group portraits of the great talents of Hollywood will be on view!

Who: Launched in 1913, Vanity Fair became a cultural catalyst, defining and celebrating key figures of the early twentieth century, from contemporary artists and literary talents to theater luminaries and silent-screen stars. To capture these icons, Editor Frank Crowninshield commissioned the world's leading photographers including Edward Steichen, Cecil Beaton, Baron De Meyer, Man Ray, and George Hurrell. The pairing of these portraitists with notable figures, including Pablo Picasso, Albert Einstein, Jesse Owens, James Joyce, Katharine Hepburn, and Fred and Adele Astaire, resulted in some of the most memorable images of the time.

Photographers to be represented include Cecil Beaton, Harry Benson, Julian Broad, Imogen Cunningham, Annie Leibovitz, Man Ray, Mary Ellen Mark, Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, Edward Steichen, Mario Testino, and Bruce Weber.

When: Now-3/1/09

Hours:
LACMA is open every day except Wednesdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Monday 12 noon–8 pm
Tuesday 12 noon–8 pm
Wednesday CLOSED
Thursday 12 noon–8 pm
Friday 12 noon–9 pm
Saturday 11 am–8 pm
Sunday 11 am–8 pm

Where:
LACMA (website)
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
P 323.857.6000

Don't forget to wander into the BCAM when you get there!