Tonight my friend Heather Harris (Fast Film) the ultra smooth rock photographer from Hollywood commented on the gorgeous photograph taken of Vanessa Redgrave. The original photograph was taken by Victor Skrebneski for the film Isadora (Duncan) starring the very beautiful Ms Redgrave. Incredibly fabulous fashion photographer for over 50 years and I just now learned about Mr. Skrebneski.
Chicago-based photographer Victor Skrebneski is known for his high-styled and glamorous fashion and advertising photography, for sensuous and sculptural nude studies, and for casually elegant portraits of friends and the famous. This photograph of Vanessa Redgrave is typical of the dynamic style Skrebneski employs for his black-and-white portraits.
Born in 1929, Victor Skrebneski attended The School of The Art Institute of Chicago (1943) and the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago (1947-49). Perhaps most famous for his commercial work for the cosmetic company Estee Lauder, Skrebneski has also photographed for Town & Country and Fitness magazines, and for Chanel, Grosvenor Furs, Kohler, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, and Saks Fifth Avenue, among many other clients. His photographs are exhibited and collected widely; a fifty-year retrospective of his work was organized by The Museum of Contemporary Photography in 1999.
Read more about him HERE Thank you so much HH!
Vanessa Redgrave starred in the film biography of the free-spirited modern interpretive dancer Isadora Duncan. Trained in classical dance, Duncan shattered the traditional conformities in her art and her personal life. The film begins at the end of her life as she recalls the past while dictating her memoirs to her male secretary. Her uninhibited sexuality and insistence on personalfreedom and expression shocked more conservative and narrow-minded patrons and audiences.
She brought in elements of classic Greek dance during the height of the jazz age and had children in and out of wedlock. Married to sewing-machine heir Paris Singer (JasonRobards) and the Russian poet Sergei Essenin(Ivan Tchenko), her life was a rollercoaster ride ofsuccess and tragic failures.
Two of her children drowned when her chauffeur left the car unattended and the vehicle plunged into a river. Duncan lived by her own rules, often shunned by the very people who had so passionately embraced her pioneering efforts in dance,women's liberation and free thinking. Redgrave was nominated for an Oscar for her performance.
Thank you Heather for sending me the info on this fantastic artist.
4 comments:
My late grandmother, a theatre enthusiast, saw Isadora Duncan dance towards the end of her career. The tragedies must have taken their toll, as she was described as somewhat bovine at that point. (My grandmother much preferred the Dolly Sisters, who presumably were not tainted so with life's burdens.)
Ruth St. Denis and Duncan were alone in their championing true modern dance in that era. St. Denis today mainly is remembered for sponsoring a very young Martha Graham, and kicking an equally young Louise Brooks out of her dance troupe for insolence.
addenda- I used to love to listen to my grandmother talk about theatre and pop culture of her eras. She lived in a tiny farm town in the midst of nowhere, but, when younger, made a 3 hour each way trip to Memphis at least once a week to catch theatrical shows and assorted shopping. I have one of her book-bound compendiums of Theatre Magazine, which included the silent film stars of the day as well, and gorgeous high-end color lithography with real gold leaf!
Awesome photography!!!
You are a champion! Please stop by The Screaming Me-Me for your award.
Have a great day.
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