Gershwin, George. (1898–1937) [Fitz, Grancel. (1894–1963). Exhibition Portrait Photograph. Oversize exhibition photograph, ca. 1929. A finely printed original bromoil gelatin silver print measuring 16.5 x 13.5 (34 x 42 cm); with mat: 20 x 24 in (51 x 61 cm ). Stamped by the photographer on verso. In very fine condition.
Although not so recognized today, Fitz was an affiliate member of the Society of Photographic Illustrators and the Philadelphia Camera Club and a highly lauded advertising photographer in the 1920s and 1930s whose clients included many of the era’s largest American businesses—from Chevrolet Motor Company and AT&T to Ivory Soap and Ipana Toothpaste. Before launching his professional career in 1920, Fitz worked as an amateur pictorialist, submitting his highly aesthetic compositions to international competitions. But in the 1920's he switched to the precisely lighted, graphic style then developing as the modern advertising style of the day, a style he was very influential in developing. An exhibition of his advertising Photographs 1929-1939, was staged at the Museum of Modern Art in 1986 and the NY Times review noted that he "was once a commanding figure in his medium, admired for his technical skills and courted by the largest of this country's large corporations. During his heyday in the late 1920's and 30's he was a star, but by the time of his death in 1964 his artistic reputation was in total eclipse." Fitz was the photographer of the often reproduced photograph of Gershwin's crossed hands at the keyboard. That now iconic image is dated 1929.
Gershwin, George. (1898–1937) [Fitz, Grancel. (1894–1963). Exhibition Portrait Photograph. Oversize exhibition photograph, ca. 1929. A finely printed original bromoil gelatin silver print measuring 16.5 x 13.5 (34 x 42 cm); with mat: 20 x 24 in (51 x 61 cm ). Stamped by the photographer on verso. In very fine condition.
Although not so recognized today, Fitz was an affiliate member of the Society of Photographic Illustrators and the Philadelphia Camera Club and a highly lauded advertising photographer in the 1920s and 1930s whose clients included many of the era’s largest American businesses—from Chevrolet Motor Company and AT&T to Ivory Soap and Ipana Toothpaste. Before launching his professional career in 1920, Fitz worked as an amateur pictorialist, submitting his highly aesthetic compositions to international competitions. But in the 1920's he switched to the precisely lighted, graphic style then developing as the modern advertising style of the day, a style he was very influential in developing. An exhibition of his advertising Photographs 1929-1939, was staged at the Museum of Modern Art in 1986 and the NY Times review noted that he "was once a commanding figure in his medium, admired for his technical skills and courted by the largest of this country's large corporations. During his heyday in the late 1920's and 30's he was a star, but by the time of his death in 1964 his artistic reputation was in total eclipse." Fitz was the photographer of the often reproduced photograph of Gershwin's crossed hands at the keyboard. That now iconic image is dated 1929.