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George Hurrell (June 1, 1904 - May 17, 1992) was a photographer who made a significant contribution to the image of glamour presented by Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hurrell originally studied as an painter with no particular interest in photography. He first began to use photography only as a medium for recording his paintings. After moving to Los Angeles, California he began photographing people as a hobby. He was introduced to the actor Ramon Novarro, and agreed to take a series of photographs of him. Novarro was impressed with the results and showed them to the actress Norma Shearer who was attempting to mould her wholesome image into something more glamorous and sophisticated. She asked Hurrell to photograph her in poses more provocative than her fans had seen before. After she showed these photographs to her husband Irving Thalberg, Thalberg was so impressed that he signed Hurrell to a contract with MGM Studios, making him head of the portrait photography department.
Over the next decade, Hurrell photographed every star contracted to MGM, and his striking black-and-white images were used extensively in the marketing of these stars. Among the performers regularly photographed by him during these years were Greta Garbo, Myrna Loy, Robert Montgomery, Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard and Norma Shearer, who was said to have refused to allow herself to be photographed by anyone else.
In the early 1940s Hurrell moved to Warner Brothers Studios photographing, among others Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney. Later in the decade he moved to Columbia Pictures where his photographs were used to help the studio build the career of Rita Hayworth.
He left Hollywood briefly to make training films for the United States Army. When he returned to Hollywood in the mid 1950s his old style of glamour had fallen from favour. Where he had worked hard to create an idealised image of his subjects, the new style of glamour was more earthy and gritty, and for the first time in his career Hurrell was not seen as an innovator. He moved to New York where he worked for fashion magazines and photographed for advertisements before relocating to Hollywood in the 1960s.
An exhibition of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1965 caused a revival of interest, and he continued to work sporadically. By the 1970s he was photographing such celebrities as Raquel Welch, Farrah Fawcett and John Travolta. He officially retired in 1976 but would still take photographs if he was particularly interested in the subject. Sharon Stone was one of the stars he felt conveyed the type of glamour he enjoyed photographing, and she posed for him several times during the 1980s . Among his last works were production stills featuring Warren Beatty and Annette Bening for the film Bugsy and the cover artwork for the Natalie Cole album Unforgettable. In 1992 he took a series of photographs of the actress Sherilyn Fenn. In these portraits he recreated his style of the 1930s, with Fenn posing in costumes, hairstyle and makeup of the period.
Hurrell died shortly after from cancer.
Since his death, his works have appreciated in value and are highly sought after as fine art by collectors.
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