Hoppé Portraits: Society, Studio and Street, National Portrait Gallery | reviews, news & interviews
Hoppé Portraits: Society, Studio and Street, National Portrait Gallery
Hoppé Portraits: Society, Studio and Street, National Portrait Gallery
A lost world regained by an extraordinary eye
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
British Museum Underground Station: 'a terrific evocation of a lost world'All images © 2011 Curatorial Assistance, Inc. / E.O. Hoppé Estate Collection
If you’ve seen pictures of the Ballets Russes, then you’ve seen Hoppé photographs. But then, if you’ve seen any society pictures from the 1920s and 1930s, then you’ve seen Hoppé. And famous writers. In fact, for portrait photography in Britain between the World Wars, you can pretty well bet the photo is Hoppé’s. But what's so good about this new exhibition is that it shows a side to Hoppé that is much less well-known - the street-view. And these photographs are thrilling, in form as well as content.
If you’ve seen pictures of the Ballets Russes, then you’ve seen Hoppé photographs. But then, if you’ve seen any society pictures from the 1920s and 1930s, then you’ve seen Hoppé. And famous writers. In fact, for portrait photography in Britain between the World Wars, you can pretty well bet the photo is Hoppé’s. But what's so good about this new exhibition is that it shows a side to Hoppé that is much less well-known - the street-view. And these photographs are thrilling, in form as well as content.
Hoppé is like Cartier-Bresson: he makes the ordinary extraordinary
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