As much as I love my Kindle for convenience, I will always be a book girl. The smell of them, the weight of them, the smooth slide of their pages under my fingers. Especially when it comes to art and design books that you display in your home—an eReader isn't the same! A current coffee table favorite that I can't put down? Sid Avery, The Art of the Hollywood Snapshot. It's so good!
If there's an Old Hollywood photo that you've pinned, repinned, and hung on the real-life inspiration board above your desk, the odds are high that it was taken by Sid Avery. Audrey Hepburn on a bike with her dog in the basket? Sid shot it. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward making breakfast? That was Sid too. James Dean on set with Elizabeth Taylor in Marfa? Yup, Sid. This huge, precious volume gathers both the iconic images as well as tons of never before seen materials and pairs them with previously untold stories from the photographer himself.
And as much as I love looking at these pictures, it's those frank and forthright stories that have me glued to the pages. Of Zsa Zsa Gabor, Sid simply says, "I couldn't stand the phony way in which she talked down to people." On Paul and Joanne: "The most relaxed couple I have ever worked with." Then there's Sid's hilarious account of his weekend with Humphrey Bogart which made me laugh out loud. I simply adore this tribute to one of Hollywood's most prolific photographic talents!
Side note: Here's more about Sid Avery. Before I got this book I had no idea who he was but now I'm fascinated by this legendary image maker!
That photo of Audrey to the left… timeless.