“Dear Reader,”
I’m sure that, like us, you have kept The Tortured Poets Department on repeat since Taylor Swift released her latest album on April 19th. Consider yourself “The Lucky One”, as we have a dazzling find to share with you. Our “Fearless” Collections Staff recently came across two (✌🏻) photographs in the GW Collection of Clara Bow herself (and we have to say that “Two is Better Than One”). The last track of TTPD is entitled “Clara Bow”, who was Hollywood’s first “It” girl after the success of the film It in 1927, which was written with Bow herself in mind.
Image: Philippe Halsman, Clara Bow, 1949, gelatin silver print, 14″ x 11″. GW Collection, Gift of Arthur Mintz, 1983 (P.83.23.5) © Halsman Archive.
About Clara Bow
In both of these images, Clara Bow is being gazed upon with looks of adoration, reflecting just one of the elements of fame that Swift sings about on this track. During her career, Clara Bow appeared in 57 films – 46 silent films and 11 talkies. Her flapper look embodied the Roaring Twenties. However, her fame did not come without turmoil.
Clara Bow’s secretary, Daisy DeVoe, had been placed in charge of Bow’s personal affairs and money, but was sued by Bow for financial mismanagement. Over the course of the trial, the press released countless details of Bow’s personal life. Deeply personal letters were read aloud in court and newspapers printed as much as they could of Bow’s private life, which took a staggering mental toll on Bow and she was later taken to a sanatorium at her request. Though DeVoe tried to ruin Bow’s sparkling Reputation, Paramount Studios stated that this would not impede her career, but she soon left Hollywood and moved to a Nevada ranch with Rex Bell, who soon became her husband. Later, Bow starred in two more films before her retirement from acting.
For her contributions to the film industry, Clara Bow was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 1500 Vine Street. A quick search on Google Maps reveals that the intersecting street at the corner of her star is none other than Sunset Boulevard, taking us back to the Reputation track “Gorgeous”, where Swift sings “Whiskey on ice, Sunset and Vine / You’ve ruined my life, by not being Mine”. We know “All Too Well” how Swift loves to leave these “Easter Eggs” for us to find! You can “Call It What You Want”, but we argue that Swift proves once again that she is a “Mastermind.”
Image: Philippe Halsman, Clara Bow, 1949, gelatin silver print, 14″ x 11″. GW Collection, Gift of Lawrence Benenson, 1983 (P.83.18.222) © Halsman Archive.
About the Photographer: Philippe Halsman
Both photographs were taken by Philippe Halsman, who compared his works to that of a good psychologist: bringing out the true character of his sitters. His approach might seem like “Nothing New” now, but during his career, Halsman actively sought to go against trends he saw in “Paris”, where he was a fashion photographer. Much like Swift’s deep and vulnerable lyrics on TTPD, Halsman wanted depth in his work.
Halsman immigrated to America during World War II with the help of Albert Einstein, who he later photographed. While he was widely known in France, he was not quite so famous in the US. He did not have to wait long for his big break, which came in 1941 after photographing Connie Ford. This photo of Ford became the ad campaign for a “Red” lipstick by Elizabeth Arden, made specifically for women in service. Though Halsman worked in other types of photography, he would later come back to portraiture. Halsman has more LIFE covers to his credit than any other photographer (101 in total).
The two photographs of Clara Bow are part of a group of over 300 works by Halsman in the GW Collection. To explore our works by Halsman visit our collections website.
– Molly Megan and Lauren Holt
Bibliography
“Autobiography,” Philippe Halsman Archive, last modified 2023, https://www.philippehalsman.com/about.
“Clara Bow,” Britannica, last modified May 31, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Clara-Bow.
“Clara Bow Cinema Card,” National Museum of American History, https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_1464538.
Joan Renner, “Revenge of the Celebrity Secretary: The Career-Ending Extortion of Screen Star Clara Bow”, Los Angeles Magazine, last modified June 4, 2013, https://lamag.com/crimeinla/revenge-of-the-celebrity-secretary-the-career-ending-extortion-of-screen-star-clara-bow#:~:text=In%201930%20her%20money%20and,break%20in%20their%20professional%20relationship.
Mary Panzer, “Philippe Halsman: A Retrospective,” National Portrait Gallery, https://npg.si.edu/exh/halsman/intro.htm.
