George Jean Nathan and H.L. Mencken, New York
Irving Penn
Description
Hired by Vogue in 1943, Irving Penn was a noted fashion and portrait photographer. In 1947 he executed this double portrait of two prominent critics and editors, Henry Louis Mencken and George Jean Nathan. Mencken, whose witty and scathing writings touched upon topics ranging from politics to all aspects of American culture, had little tolerance for government and quackery. Principally a drama critic, Nathan was an early champion of the playwright Eugene O’Neill. Together the urbane Nathan and the self-made Mencken co-edited the magazine The Smart Set from 1914 to 1923, when they joined Alfred Knopf in founding a new periodical, The American Mercury. As literary critics for The American Mercury, they published works by F. Scott Fitzgerald and other important writers. Disagreements between the two had ended their relationship some years before Penn photographed them, and some of the old friction between them may be read in the guarded expressions they present to the camera. As a portrait photographer, Penn preferred to pose his sitters in a studio environment employing simple lighting, removed from the distractions of an uncontrolled setting. In this image, set against a simple paper backdrop, Penn focuses the viewer’s attention on the subject, distilling clues of personality and habit through pose, expression and dress. This image appeared in the February 1, 1948 issue of Vogue.
Carole McNamara, Assistant Director for Collections & Exhibitions
on the occasion of the exhibition New York Observed: The Mythology of the City
(July 13 – September 22, 2003)
Subject Matter:
This double portrait is of the author, editor, and drama critic George Jean Nathan and the journalist, literary critic and author H. L. Mencken.
This appeared in Vogue as a full-page portrait, commemorating Mencken and Nathan’s collaborative column, “Heliogabulus” written for Smart Set. The critics appear statue like, as pensive busts in the studio. Each man rests their face on one hand; Mencken placed his writing hand on the covered table. Printed on platinum paper, Penn used a limited palette to depict this sculptural portrait. Penn mixed, coated, exposed, and developed the platinum prints himself.
Physical Description:
This photograph is a double portrait of two men in dark suits. Both men lean foward, resting an elbow—chin in hand—on a blanketed form in the foreground. In the center of the image is the extended hand of the man on the right.
Usage Rights:
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