self portrait of George Platt Lynes

George Platt Lynes (15 April 1907 – 6 December 1955) was an American fashion and commercial photographer. Image File history File links GPLself. ... Image File history File links GPLself. ... April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (106th in leap years). ... 1907 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fashion photography is a specific type of photography devoted to displaying clothes and other fashion items. ... Generally speaking, advertising is the promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas, usually by an identified sponsor. ...

Born in East Orange, New Jersey to Adelaide (Sparkman) and Joseph Russell Lynes his childhood was spent in New Jersey but he attended the Berkshire School in Massachusetts. He was sent to Paris in 1925 with the idea of better preparing him for college. His life was forever changed by the circle of friends that he would meet there. Gertrude Stein, Glenway Wescott, Monroe Wheeler and those that he met through them opened an entirely new world to the young artist. East Orange is a city located in Essex County, New Jersey. ... State nickname: The Garden State Other U.S. States Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Governor Richard Codey (D) Acting, Outgoing Jon Corzine (D) (Governor-Elect) Senators Jon Corzine (D) (Outgoing) Frank Lautenberg (D) Official language(s) None defined Area 22,608 km² (47th)  - Land 19,231 km²  - Water 3,378... State nickname: Bay State Other U.S. States Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney (R) Senators Edward Kennedy (D) John Kerry (D) Official language(s) English Area 27,360 km² (44th)  - Land 20,317 km²  - Water 7,043 km² (25. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... 1925 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 - July 27, 1946) was an American writer, poet, feminist, playwright and catalyst in the development of modern art and literature, who spent most of her life in France. ...

He returned to the United States with the idea of a literary career and he even opened a bookstore in Englewood, New Jersey in 1927. He first became interested in photography not with the idea of a career, but to take photographs of his friends and displayed them in his bookstore. Map highlighting Englewoods location within Bergen County. ... 1927 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Lens and mounting of a large format camera Wikibooks has more about this subject: Photography Photography is the process of making pictures by means of the action of light. ...

Returning to France the next year in the company of Wescott and Wheeler, they would travel around Europe for the next several years, always with his camera at hand. He developed close friendships with a larger circle of artists including Jean Cocteau and Julien Levy the art dealer and critic. Levy would exhibit his photographs in his gallery in New York City in 1932 and Lynes would open his studio there that same year. He was soon receiving commissions from Harper's Bazaar, Town & Country and Vogue including a cover with perhaps the first supermodel, Lisa Fonssagrives. Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (July 5, 1889 – October 11, 1963) was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, and filmmaker. ... An art gallery or art museum is a space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art, and usually primarily paintings and sculpture. ... New York City, officially named the City of New York, is the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture. ... Harpers Bazaar is a world-renowned fashion magazine. ... Town & Country is an American magazine focusing on high society and fashion. ... Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine published in several countries under several names. ... A supermodel is a highly paid fashion model in an elite group with a worldwide reputation. ... Lisa Fonssagrives Lisa Fonssagrives was a supermodel of the 1940s and 1950s and while today we think a Giselle Bunchen has been on quite a few magazines covers, Lisa was on over 200 Vogue covers - alone. That means for 18 years she was on almost every cover. ...

self portrait of George Platt Lynes

In 1935 he was asked to document the principal dancers and productions of Lincoln Kirstein's and George Balanchine's newly founded American Ballet company (now the New York City Ballet). Image File history File links GPLselft. ... Image File history File links GPLselft. ... 1935(MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Photograph of Lincoln Kirstein taken by George Platt Lynes. ... George Balanchine (January 9 (O.S.) = January 22 (N.S.), 1904–April 30, 1983) was one of the 20th centurys foremost choreographers, and one of the founders of American ballet. ... Arguably a melting pot of influences from other schools of ballet, major US companies such as ABT and SFB hire soloists from all around the world, performances by these companies encompass a wide range of styles. ... The New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. ...

While he continued to shoot fashion photographs, getting accounts with such major clients as Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue during the 1930s and 1940s he was losing interes and had started a series of photographs which interpreted characters and stories from Greek mythology. Bergdorf Goodman is a major department store based in Midtown, Manhattan in New York City. ... A Saks Fifth Avenue store in Phipps Plaza, Atlanta. ... // Events and trends The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... // Events and trends The 1940s were seen as a transition period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s, which also leads the period to be divided in two halves: The first half of the decade was dominated by World War II, the widest and most destructive armed conflict in...

By the mid-1940s grew disillusioned with New York and left for Hollywood in 1946 where he took the post of Chief Photographer for the Vogue studios. He photographed Katherine Hepburn, Rosalind Russell, Gloria Swanson and Orson Welles, from the film industry as well as others in the arts among them Aldous Huxley, Igor Stravinsky and Thomas Mann. While a success artistically he was a financial failure. 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 - June 29, 2003) was a notable American film and stage actress. ... Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907 - November 28, 1976) was an American film and stage actress. ... Gloria Swanson Gloria Swanson (March 27, 1897 – April 4, 1983) was an American actress. ... Orson Welles, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1937 George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) is generally considered one of Hollywoods greatest directors, as well as a fine actor, broadcaster and screenwriter. ... The film industry involves motion pictures studios, manufacturers of technical equipment and software, distribution and personnel on a global scale. ... Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963) was a British writer who emigrated to the United States. ... Igor Fyodorovitch Stravinsky (Russian: ) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian-French-American composer of modern classical music. ... Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann (June 6, 1875 – August 12, 1955) was a German novelist, social critic, philanthropist and essayist, lauded principally for a series of highly symbolic and often ironic epic novels and mid-length stories, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and intellectual and...

His friends helped him to move back to New York City in 1948. Other photographers, such as Richard Avedon, Edgar de Evia and Irving Penn, had taken his place in the fashion world. This combined with his disinterest in commercial work, meant he was never able to regain the successes he once had. 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923–October 1, 2004) was an American photographer. ... (1910-2003) photographer partner of Robert Denning He is best know for his Tissot-like effects using soft focus and diffusion. ... Irving Penn (b. ...

Focus on homoerotic imagery, started to take over his life. He had begun in the 1930s taking nudes of his circle of friends and performers, including a young Yul Brynner, but these had been known only to intimates for years. He began working with Dr. Alfred Kinsey and his Institute in Bloomington, Indiana. The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, as it is known today holds the largest collection of his male nudes. Twice he declared bankruptcy. // Events and trends The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... Yul Brynner Yul Brynner (July 7, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was a Russian Hollywood and Broadway actor. ... Dr. Alfred Kinsey interviewing a respondent to his survey. ... The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, often shortened to Kinsey Institute, exists to promote interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the fields of human sexuality, gender, and reproduction. The Institute was founded as the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University at Bloomington in 1947 by Alfred... Bloomington is a city located in Monroe County, Indiana. ... The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, often shortened to Kinsey Institute, exists to promote interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the fields of human sexuality, gender, and reproduction. The Institute was founded as the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University at Bloomington in 1947 by Alfred...

By May of 1955 he had been diagnosed terminally ill with lung cancer. He closed his studio. He destroyed much of his print and negative archives particularly his male nudes. After a final trip to Europe, Lynes returned to New York City where he died.

References

Crump, James. George Platt Lynes: Photographs from the Kinsey Institute. Boston: Bullfinch Press, 1993.

Leddick, David. George Platt Lynes. New York: Taschen, 2000.

Leddick, David. Intimate Companions: a Triography of George Platt Lynes, Paul Cadmus, Lincoln Kirstein, and Their Circle. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000.

Woody, Jack. Portrait: The Photographs of George Platt Lynes, 1927-1955. Santa Fe: Twin Palms Publishers, 1994.

External links

• Queer Arts Biopic
• George Lynes page