Jolson, Al. (1886-1950) [Strauss-Peyton]. Original Strauss-Peyton Exhibition Photograph. Original large photograph by the popular Ziegfeld photographer team of Strauss-Peyton, showing Jolson in a beautifully lit bust portrait wearing hat and scarf. Signed "Strauss Peyton" lower right and dated 1923. Some moderate silvering, upper edge chipped, unexamined out of mat. Sight: 9.5 x 13.5 inches, matted to slightly larger.


“In the 1910s, Benjamin Strauss specialized in formal portraits of Kansas City notables. After he added Homer Peyton as partner, the business expanded to theatrical photography. Peyton was the graphic artist, performing pictorialist manipulations of the negative to form aesthetic backgrounds, sculpt shadows, and supply tonal drama. Strauss-Peyton's large format prints are noteworthy for their richness of texture. Because of Kansas City's importance as a transportation hub, it was the juncture of three different theatrical circuits. Strauss-Peyton, like their rivals, Orval Hixon, James Hargis Connelly and Bert Studio, secured a national reputation as celebrity portraitists. Images regularly appeared in 1920s Movie and Theater magazines.” (David S. Shields, http://broadway.cas.sc.edu/index.php?action=showPhotographer&id=51)