Customer Reviews

Vanity Fair: The Portraits: A Century of Iconic Images

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Few books published survey the fascinating moments of the 20th century the way VANITY FAIR PORTRAITS: A CENTURY OF ICONIC IMAGES does. This hefty, handsome volume contains the photographic works of some of the world's most important photographers whose images have graced the pages to Vanity Fair in the two periods of its publication - the beginning and the ending of the 20th century. This is a photographic collection that gives generous full page (and at time double page ) spreads of brilliant photographs by artists who gained permission to enter the lives of movie starts, artists, writers, government personalities, royalty, stage personas, the wealthy and the significant poor - they are all here in both lush color and black and white reproductions.

Not only is it fascinating to leaf through the 300 odd photographs of this book, but it is also rewarding to read the several introductory notes and essays by Graydon Carter, David Friend, and Christopher Hitchens - each of whom lends appreciation for not only the publication that influenced art and fashion and politics and world affairs, but also gave readers a tasteful and solidly informative way to view the world as the characters displayed here influenced our times. This is a collection of art and history married in a way that allows the reader time and contrasts to re-live the past and appreciate the developments that graced the years from 1900 to 2000. Well worth the price! Grady Harp, October 08

If you're into portrait photography, this is a great book covering some well known portraits, and a wide range of style, time, and people. I went through the book several times 'earmarking' portraits for lighting style, posing, and/or composition that I find inspirational.

My copy of the book had several pages though where the ink of one page had worn off onto another page, which was most annoying.

Although I purchased this book as a gift, I did get the chance to look through it as well. This is a gorgeous coffee-table book that is a fine addition to anyone's collection. Amazing photographs from the last century. Once you pick it up, it's hard not to look through the entire thing at least once. Fabulous book!

Hitchens writes a great essay introducing these portraits. The portraits themselves vary in quality. Hands down, the very best ones are the ones done by the great masters earlier in the twentieth century in black and white, especially by Steichen. Of the later photographs, the ones done by Bruce Weber are my favorites along with Ritts, Tesino and others. I think the weakest photos, the ones that will probably not make it as serious art for being overly gimmicky, are Annie Lebovitz's. She makes a great eye catching magazine cover but she does not make ANY portrait that would even give someone like Steichen, were he alive, a moment's worry. Also included are some old Vanity Fair illustrated covers and these were quite gorgeous too. Nowadays this kind of cover could probably not sell a magazine but it's too bad as they were all wonderful works of art. In short, there's something for everyone in this huge collection of portraits. If you prefer very clever photos of present day celebs a lot, then this may be worth a full five stars for you. Those were the ones that took it down to four stars for me.

This is a increadable collection of portraits taken by Vanity Fair photographers over the past 100 years.
The photos are all done very well and in many cases, put a face to the famous that we have only heard about from the early 1900's. The book's coverage of the many different personalities of the 20th century is really something. It is a very fun book to go through and see the many diverse individuals.

I am a semi-pro photographer and am always on the lookout for inspiration, so when i saw this on the shelf, I had to pick it up. 10 or 15 pages in, I was hooked. I had to buy it.

The images in this book are incredible, but the foreward the and way the images are arranged just makes reading through that much more fun.

The book is for everyone really, with celebrities photos starting around 1913. It is really an ode to our time in pictures.

I would recommend this book to everyone and am happy I purchased it.

The Portraits book is good on many levels. Many of the photos are of people from the past that are not the "stars" of their day but of varying occupations and fame. Great photos of so many folks. Many of them iconic and long-lasting. Just a good book to sit and read to get a sense of history and the times.

A book with beautiful photography and fun too read! I have previous editions from other years. All great!
Arnie Fox

Sleek, beautiful, creative photographs from some of the top photographers in the world. The price is awesome on Amazon.....I almost bought it at Barnes & Noble for $65. What a bargain here.....thanks Amazon!!

This is a really beautiful book. I bought it because I went to go see the Vanity Fair exhibit at LACMA. This is a great book for any photography lover or someone who has been a Vanity Fair fan, and it makes a really great gift. It chronicles Vanity Fair portraits of iconic artists, celebrities, and genius minds that have shaped the 20th century. I would greatly recommend it!