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KARSH PORTRAITS

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KARSH PORTRAITS Yousuf Karsh

48 gravure Karsh

if

a

is

K^

jre,

a

i

.^

-.

v^"

odist of the carriP'.,

uit

To be phof j.ophed

s great.

.^i

J sign of personol c"' ^.nplishment for Durinr. •-

rury. ..,

p^'

classic

3pher of the

illustratioi

^. M

,,,rie

camera

his

Of gettably— recorded

the

lens has

illuminat-

the unique attitude, the moment's reflection, definitive picture of

one celebrated person-

r another.

one volume are

in

memorable por-

forty-eight

im the Karsh portfolio. They form rtion of

private thoughts. ities

of greatness that

igway, an

make a

new views

also are

of

if

new

recent portraits of other

reflect the

pxDrtraits

seventies-Muhammad

the

narles,

o book by

in

rapidly changing Fidel

Ali,

Norman

Jacques Cousteau,

okov-and

or a

generation,

full

never before published together

he

a Shaw,

Sibelius,

Henry Moore, Marshall

and Pablo Picasso and

1,

Churchill,

a Casals, a

Einstein,

are not eclipsed even within a

:er

an imposing

who have shaped our public Some of the faces are familiar:

the figures

Castro,

Mailer, Vladi-

Karsh's continuing interest

in

the ad-

medical science: Hans Selye and Helen Taussig. )roduce with

fidelity the velvety

and brilliant

blacks

of Karsh's original mat-finish prints, this

5

sheet-fed gravure

's

and

the finest

Each portrait

Carsh's recollections of the

aporf

The

and

book

printing crafts-

are world-famous because he has

portraits

iterest in his subjects.

taken.

in

result

is

a record

technical

skill.

is

accompa-

moments when

the pic-

of extraordinary per-

Many

of these

images

jre-as great portraits and remarkable photoAs a reviewer has said of Karsh's work: "He makes hat others only sense,- he

makes

pictorial

what

only a mood."

Jacket illustrations: Front:

Jacques Cousteau, Ernest Henningway

Back: Fidel Castro, Vladimir

Nabokov

"" YORK GRAPHIC SOCIETY ir,

"—on

02108

to

KARSH Portraits YousufKarsh

NEW YORK GRAPHIC

SOCIETY

BOSTON

(0 University of Toronto Press 1976

All rights reserved.

No

part

of this book may be reproduced

in

any form or by any electronic or

mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in

who may

writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer

First

published in Canada by University of Toronto Press

First

United States edition 1976

New

York Graphic Society books

are published

Printed in Switzerland by Roto-Sadag

by

Little,

s.a.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Karsh, Yousuf, 1908-

Karsh I.

portraits.

Photography -

Portraits,

TR681.F2K38 ISBN 0-8212-0606-0

i.

Title.

779'.2'o924

76-15893

quote brief passages

Brown and Company.

in a

review.

To

my

wife, Estrellita

Contents

INTRODUCTION,

9

ALDRIN, ARMSTRONG & COLLINS: THE CREW OF APOLLO

MUHAMMAD

ALI, I7

MARIAN ANDERSON, JOAN BAEZ, 25 PABLO CASALS,

29

FIDEL CASTRO,

33

MARC CHAGALL, H.R.H.

THE

21

37

PRINCE CHARLES, THE PRINCE OF WALES, RT.

XI,

HON. SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL,

K.G.,

4I

P.C.,

O.M., C.H., 45

JACQUES COUSTEAU, 49 MICHAEL E. DEBAKEY, 53 ALBERT EINSTEIN,

ROBERT FROST,

$7

61

ALBERTO GIACOMETTI,

65

MARTHA GRAHAM, 69 ERNEST HEMINGWAY, 73 AUGUSTUS JOHN, O.M., 77 HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN YASUNARI KAWABATA, HELEN KELLER,

XXIII,

8I

85

89

JOHNFITZGERALDKENNEDY,

*

93

NIKITA SERGEYEVICH KHRUSHCHEV,

MARTIN LUTHER ROPPEITA KIT

A,

K

I

N

G, J R.,

97

lOI

IO5

JACQUES LIPCHITZ,

IO9

NORMAN MAILER, II3 GIACOMO MANZU, II7 MARCEL MARCEAU, 121 WILLIAM SOMERSET MAUGHAM,

C.H.,

I25

^

1

R A

N

(^:

O

I

S

M

A U R

I2y

A C,

I

MARSHALL MCLUHAN,

C.C,

1

33

JOAN M R 6, 137 HENRY M O O R O.M., C.H., I4I VLADIMIR NABOKOV, I45 I

F.,

GEORGIA

o'k

ROBERT

P P E

O

I49

H E F F E,

N H

PABLO PICASSO,

E

I

M

E R,

RAVI

S

53

157

JEAN-PAUL RIOPELLE, ALBERT SCHWEITZER, HANS SELYE,

I

C.C, 16I 1

65

C.C, 169

H A N K A

R,

I73

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW, JEAN JULIUS SIBELIUS,

EDWARD STEICHEN,

l8l

185

JOHN ERNST STEINBECK, IGOR STRAVINSKY,

HELEN TAUSSIG,

I77

1

I93

I97

TENNESSEE WILLIAMS,

201

89

Introduction

This

new volume

the fourth in an informal series

is

publication of Porfra(f5 oj Greatness.

still

which began

recall the thrill

in 1959 with the with which I held my

life. My friend Marsh Jeanneret, was one of the first to understand superb quality reproduction, and he had spared no effort to ensure

copy of that book;

first

can

I

it

was

a

landmark

in

my

the Director of the University of Toronto Press,

my

desire for

Through

the highest possible artistic standards.

graphs - which

my

there.

had hitherto thought impossible - had been achieved. The

moulded by

are

original photofine

speaking message of the eyes, the subtle nuances of light and shadow

details, the

which

I

and the

skilled craftsmanship

refined technology of sheet-fed gravure, amazing fidelity to

the incorporeal character beneath the skin: they

My message came through as

I

intended

might say about radio communication photographs

many

thousands of people

in space. all

were

all

'loud and clear' as the astronauts

it,

To my

great joy, through

my

over the world have since been intro-

duced to some of the outstanding personalities of our time. I have been asked whether I feel there are as many great men and women to photograph today as in the past - whether the strengths of a Churchill or Sibelius are still to be found in an era of anti-heroes. When my portrait of Winston

me on my

Churchill in 1941 started

search for greatness,

I

had the legacy of half a

century to draw upon. During the war, in one brief period in England alone,

photographed 42 leaders of international

I

of George Bernard

stature; the portrait

Shaw dates from that time. After the war, there was no lack of great personalities whose reputation extended back for decades. I wonder whether now a similar number exists. In any case, I feel that no collection of my portraits would be complete without some of that rich earlier human endowment - an Einstein, a Schweitzer, a Casals - old and eternal friends. But I feel the past has no claim on greatness. The great are always among us. Nor can we yet judge what lessons remain to be learned from the young, from the proud aggressiveness of Muhammad Ali, or from Joan Baez, symbol of the restless sixties, or from the frank openness of the Prince of Wales, who is aware of monarchy as a source of stability in changing times.

The

power.' life's

know

I

It IS

work

a part

of the elusive

to try to capture this

often, to ourselves

may

scious gesture, a raised

moment a

more

my

to record.

lift

lies in

what

I

have called their 'inward

secret that hides in every one,

on

film.

The mask we

a surprised response, a

this artistic

encounter the

it

has been

my

power

in

an uncon-

moment of repose. This is the viewer, I hope, may be given Hemingway,

or Helen

Joan Miro.

quest

now

has stretched over half a lifetime.

the compelling desire to capture

perfection

and

present to others and, too

for only a second - to reveal that

brow,

From

quest continues without interruption.

me

intimate glimpse of another dimension of an Ernest

Keller, or

My

only that

fascination of these people for

knowing

when something

it

have driven

to be unattainable.

close to

heart, adventurous,

it

my

ideal has

My

me

The search for greatness and work harder - to strive for

to

quest has brought

been attained.

It

growing perhaps and forever seeking.

has kept

me great joy, me young in

Acknowledgement

is

made of courteous permission

for quotation of passages

Georgia' " by Anita Pollitzcr, in Saturday Review of Literature, xxxili

Copyright 1950 The Saturday Review Associates,

10

Inc.

from

(November

" 'That's 4,

1950)-

Karsh

Portraits

Aldrifiy

Armstrong

&

Collins

THE CREW OF APOLLO

The crew of the Edwin E Aldrin,

XI

made the first manned landing on the moon. was born in Montclair, N.j., in 1930, trained as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, and served in Korea and Germany; studied astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; participated in the Gemini ix and xii missions; served as backup command module pilot for the Apollo xi mission, was later involved with advanced planning of missions for n A s A, and then appointed head of the aerospace research pilots' school, Edwards Air Force Base. Neil A. Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, in 1930, received his pilot's license on his sixteenth birthday, served in Korea as a naval aviator before joining N A s a as a civilian research pilot; at 10.56 p.m. e d t, July 20, 1969, became the first man to set foot on the moon; in 1970, appointed Deputy Associate Administrator of Aeronautics for n a s a in Washington. Michael Collins, born in Italy in 1930, spaceship that Jr.,

attended the U.S. Military officer in the

command

Academy and

U.S. Air Force; took part

pilot

of the Apollo xi

flight;

in

served as an experimental flight

test

Gemini vii and x missions; was 1970, became Assistant Secretary for

in

Public Affairs, Department of State.

13

first men to set foot on the moon were still resting from their historic space voyage when photographed them at the N A s A Manned Spacecraft Center in Texas. They had spent the preceding three weeks in quarantine, as a precaution against any lunar organisms they might have carried back to earth. Now they were in high spirits. Remembering the cautionary signs which had surrounded

The

I

them, they playfully posted one outside Contamination.' in

Houston

to

~ The day

watch our

I

my

temporary studio: 'Karsh.

photographed them,

friend, Dr.

my

wife and

I

had

No

risen early

Michael E. DeBakey, perform open-heart

surgery on a twelve-year-old boy - a 'blue baby operation.'

We had stood by his

room, completely involved and oblivious of time, until the final suture was in place and the boy's previously blue skin colour turned a healthy pink as blood coursed through his newly-widened heart valves. It was a profound religious experience. During the one-and-a-half hour drive to the n A s A installation, neither of us spoke, we were so emotionally drained. '^ On arrival at N A S A took Neil Armstrong immediately into the astronaut later than scheduled, library which served as my studio. My wife meanwhile described in detail the side in the operating

I

open-heart operation to

Edwin

'I5uzz' Aldrin.

He

listened intently. Aldrin

is

a

mind as finehoned as a surgeon's scalpel. Finally, he inquired, 'Do you think Dr. DeBakey would ever let me watch an operation?' The surgeon would feel honoured to be asked, Estrellita replied: John Glenn and Frank Borman had already observed remarkable man, blond formality on the outside and underneath

a

many

operations. At this point the three astronauts were the idols of an increduworld - no request seemed impossible to grant. Aldrin paused for a moment. Then he remarked thoughtfully, 'You know, it's a strange thing. I knew that the

lous

moon opened

to me. I'm just beginning to reahse

now

that the earth

is

opening,

Armstrong invited us to lunch. He looks very much the boy from small-town Ohio, as American as apple pie, with a frank, open, lopsided grin - but he has a streak of mysticism and a concentrated drive that made the years of training and sacrifice for the moon-shot possible. The following week the Apollo XI crew were to begin their first goodwill world tour. During lunch,

too!' '^ That afternoon, Neil

he kept asking, 'Tell me all about England. Tell me all about France - about Italy - about Africa - about Russia.' Finally we said, 'But you have just been to

Why

you so interested in these mundane places?' Armstrong fixed on us and explained^ 'To tell you the truth, that is the only place I've been to!' -^ Michael Collins' early years in a European diplomatic environment had given him an easy social grace and presence. I sensed that, for him, life was more than Apollo. ~ After this photograph was made, Collins took a long relief map of the moon and, with mock solemnity, and an exaggerated flourish of his pen, inscribed one of the yet-unnamed craters as 'Karsh Crater.' Later, Armstrong sent us a print of the famous photograph that showed his boot and his footstep in the moondust. On it he wrote: 'That's one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind,' his first words on the moon, and added, 'with the the

moon!

are

his searching eyes

best wishes

14

of the photographer.'

MICHAEL COLLINS, EDWIN BUZZ ALDRIN, NEIL

A.

ARMSTRONG

?

-*».,

^

Muhammad Ali

Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, 1942. In i960, won the Olympic Gold Medal for heavyweight boxing in Rome; later that year turned professional. Defeated Sonny Liston in 1964 to win the World Heavyweight Title; immediately afterwards announced he had joined the Nation of Islam ('Black Muslims'). The following year the World Boxing Association rescinded his boxing license. In 1966 announced that he had 'no quarrel with the Viet Cong' and, when called for induction under the draft on April 28, 1967, refused to join the U.S. Army. As a result, lost his New York State boxing license and was sentenced to five years in jail. In 1970 the sentence was reversed and he received his first state boxing license, to fight in Atlanta. Subsequently he fought Joe Frazier in two highly publicized bouts, losing the first but winning the second; and on October 30, 1974, he knocked out George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, to regain the world heavyweight championship - retaining

it

the next year against Frazier in Manila.

17

Probably no other person

have photographed has been subjected to so

I

years of such open hatred as

Muhammad Ah

many

was bom bbck one of his weap-

- hatred because he

American South; hatred because of the arrogance which is was uiufraid to take unpopular stands for his new religion hatred because, in spite o{ all this, he remained the fastestor against a war; and moving, as well as the fastest-talking, heavyweight boxer m histor)'. ^ I photographed him in 1970, as part of a scries of young people for Look magazine. For in the

ons; hatred because he

from the only profession he knew because he

three years he had been prohibited

had decbred U.S. Army.

got no quarrel with the Viet Cong* and refused to join the

ain't

*I

^

He had been ahead of his

cans were questioning the

war

in

By

time.

Viemam. and

we met more Amen-

the time

things were beginning to break for

him. Soon he would be bo.xing again. In the meantime,

whde he

appealed his

was making a hvmg by public lectures, by making commercials, even bv plaving in a Broadway musical. Through it all, he never lost his compassion

sentence, he

for the poor, his love for children, his supporters,

^

and

.Much of his success he credits to

met

1964

in

his pride in his race. In turn,

when

the

his

manager, Herbert .Muhammad,

new world hea\yweight champion wanted

of himself and went to .Muhammad, then lished instant rapport. This

with him.

session

he never

lost

who cheered him while others poured out venom and death threats.

-^

I

took

a

photographer

as a possible

Muhammad Ah

in

whom he

pictures taken

Chicago. They estab-

for my own portrait my New York studio with a

good omen

arrived at

young editor trailing behind. They had jogged together from the Look young editor carrying All's hea\-\- portable telephone which Ah said kept him in 'constant contact with the world.' Smce the editor was a slight young man. I smiled to myself as I envisioned this improbable duo and the incredulous stares of the passers-by as they made their way up .Madison Avenue. -^ 'The Greatest' and I talked about his triumphs, about patent medicine, about the commercials he was making, but there was for me no real contact. The pinstriped suit he wore for our sitting was chosen not for business but to command the respect he rightly felt he deser\-ed. Behind his movements lurked suspicion and anger, and a breathless

the

orfices.

waiting for recognition. ling autobiography,

get used to me.

yours; I

my

wont

18

let

goals

vou

'I

He seemed

am

to be saying, as he vsTOte later in his

compel-

America. Only, I'm the part you won't recognize. But

Bbck. confident, cocky;

my own -

get used to

my

me

I

I

name, not yours; can make

it

my

rehgion. not

without your approval!

beat me!'

-M

UHA

.M .M

.\D

.\

L

I

P*^'*!!^

\.

yira

17:* V

Marian Anderson

One of the

world's leading contraltos. She was born in Philadelphia and

sang in her Baptist church choir.

A

fund raised through

a

as a child

church concert enabled

her to take singing lessons under an Italian teacher. In 1925 came public recognition

of her talent, when out of 300 she won first prize in a competition in New York. During the next forty years she made many concert tours in the United States and Europe. She gave her farewell concert at Carnegie Hall, New York, in April, 1965. Appointed member of the United States delegation to the United Nations and a member of the U.N. Trusteeship Committee, 1958. U.S. Presidential Medal of

Freedom, 1962.

21

The world knows through

it

the voice of

Marian Anderson.

It

has enriched our music, and

has been niade eloquent the long tragedy of the

Negro

race

and her

own triumph over it. -^ This realization is for all who hear and see her. What struck me most, however, when photographed her at her home in Connecticut I

was her simplicity and peacefulness. With her, I was convinced, the harmony of music came from the harmony of her being. The Negro spirituals which have deeply moved us all are not merely the result of a glorious voice and long technical training; they utter her own nature. ~ My problem was to capture in 1945,

and

register this quality - not an easy

problem even when she

None of my

gestions with almost childlike obedience.

the

least.

All of them,

I

felt,

had missed the intangible target.

Then, towards the conclusion of the in for a rehearsal. This

fell in

seemed to be

sitting.

with

my

early shots satisfied

sug-

me

in

began to despair.

I

Miss Anderson's accompanist came

my chance.

I

asked him, in

whisper, to play

a

very softly the accompaniment to 'The Crucifixion,' one of the singer's favourite compositions. Hurriedly, that

it

Unaware of

my

innocent

snapped the camera.

I

contained what

I

little

When

I

plot, she

my own

had seen with

began to

hum

to herself.

developed and printed the film eyes. This

is

I

felt

the portrait of a

^

Later, this picture was harmonious soul revealing itself unconsciously in song. in York. man who saw it there Modern Art New A Museum of exhibited at the told me afterwards that it had brought tears to his eyes because he remembered his own moving experience with Miss Anderson. He had been one of eleven

people invited to her birthday party

at

her home, 'Mariana Farm,' in Connecticut.

Before the guests partook of a light meal, her mother suggested to Miss Anderson that she sing 'The Lord's Prayer.'

explained. listeners.

'^

I

She speaks to

22

'We always say

As the daughter sang grace could understand us,

above the

that

this after

clash

I

of race,

grace before a meal,' the mother

day there were few dry eyes among her

had studied the Negro singer for myself. in the language of all humanity.

MARIANANDERSON

'

\_.->•.

/

;

Marc Chagall

known for the fanciful, dream-like images of his paintings. Born in 1887 in Vitebsk, Russia, and grew up in a Hasidic Jewish community. Went to Paris to study in 19 10 and since then, apart from eight years back in Russia and

Artist, best

seven in the United States, has lived in France.

costumes and decor for

completed

a

new

ballet

and

Works

theatre, ceramics

ceiling for the Paris Opera. His

include engravings, murals,

and stained

home

is

at

glass. In 1964 he Vence, northwest of

Nice.

37

when

a Parisian

concierge speaks well of

a tenant,

it

is

an event worth noting.

The middle-aged woman who opened the street door of Marc Chagall's apartment building seemed entirely typical of her much-abused class. asked for the I

great painter, expecting at best a perfunctory gesture towards his rooms. Instead,

she broke into a

warm

~ Chagall

smile and praise. Obviously she loved him.

lives, when he is in Paris, in a romantic old building on the Left Bank, overlooking the Seine. His studio is on the third floor; the steps to it are worn, and there are

in a niche on the stairwell. The studio was neat, almost comAlong one wall stood a screen on which he had painted a pair of -^ Chagall was very affable but it seemed to me that, at times, he was

Gothic madonnas pulsively so. flying lovers.

playing a role, that of the naive, childlike figure usually portrayed in his public image. Often he referred to himself in the third person - 'Chagall did this' - as if he It was not an arrogant way of speaking. gentle, yet very strong, personality. ^^ With and gave the impression of a soft where he had been commisAmerica returned from just he had wife, Vava,

were standing

He his

off"

and looking

at himself.

sioned to paint the murals for the

were

New

in

York,

Czarist Russia,

new Metropolitan Opera House. While

they

on the life of the Jews in on Broadway. Had he seen it? No,

Fiddler on the Roof, a musical based

was enjoying

many circumstances of his own they had refused

a great success

invitations.

early

life

Any

theatrical presentation so close to the

in Vitebsk could be nothing,

he

felt,

but a dread-

ful sham. ~ My assistant at the time was a charming, handsome young Frenchman

named

At one point

Felix Gilbert.

Felix

had to kneel

in front

of Chagall to adjust

the lights and Chagall, very gently, almost in benediction, placed his

hand on the

boy's glorious shock of hair and asked, 'Quel age as-tu?' Felix replied, 'Twentyseven.' 'Oh,' said Chagall, characteristically placing his

hand over

his heart, 'to

be

we heard children coming home from school, and Chagall said, 'You know, when I was a boy in Vitebsk, whenever wanted to laugh my mother would put her hand over my mouth and say, 'Shah! Shah! Not too loud or they might come and get you.' could never laugh out loud. Now, when hear children shouting and happy thank God every day.' He said it without affectation or false piety: God and he were very good friends who understood each other, two cronies sitting down and drinking their glasses of tea together. 'I thank God every day

young!' Just then

I

I

I

I

that

I

can hear such free laughter and

hand of fear clutching to

know

at their hearts.'

I

~

rejoice that these children It

was good

that his laughter, as well as his tears, are

to hear

him

do not

laugh.

feel the

And good

permanently recorded on canvas

for later generations to see.

38

MARC CHAGALL

H.R.H. Prince Charles The Prince oj Wales

41

I

had not had the pleasure of photographing Prince Charles since he was three Now, the popular 26-year-old prince was to make an official visit to

years old.

in a tour of the Arctic. This would be an appropriate photograph the heir to the throne at Government House in felt, to I especially requested that Prince Charles sit for me in an open-necked

Canada, culminating occasion,

Ottawa.

I

~

more formal or ceremonial attire, since he combined the more relaxed mood of today's youth. When Prince Charles entered the room, where hung the oil portraits of his royal ancestors, my first impression was of an attractive, seemingly unassuming young man - but with an unmistakable presence. I found him an easy conversationalist, with a good sense of humour, and an unfeigned interest in others. ~ I reminded him of our rather than in

shirt,

age-old tradition with the

last

photographic

which

session, for

I

had prepared myself by bringing toys to

present to him. That day Prince Charles hadjust been brought in

buttonhole of his

in the

like

little

from

the garden;

jacket a daisy perched jauntily. As he saw the toys,

any eager small boy, he reached out with his left hand. But before his fingers on the toy, with his right hand - unlike any other small boy - the royal

closed child

removed

the daisy

taneous formal exchange.

from

it toward me - a sponreminded him of this charming incident, he certainly was well trained, wasn't I?' I hope that this

his

buttonhole and thrust

~ When

remarked, tongue-in-cheek,

'I

portrait conveys the directness,

I

sympathy, and disarming lack of affectation of

His Royal Highness.

42

PRINCE CHARLES

1

The

Rt.

Hon. Sir Winston Churchill ICG., P.C, O.M., C.H.

Prime Minister of England 1940-5 and 1951-5, historian and artist. Born 1874; Duke of Marlborough; son of Lord Randolph Churchill. His mother, Jennie Jerome, was American, and in 1963 he was made an honorary U.S. citizen by Act of Congress. Educated at Harrow and Sandhurst. Went into

descendant of the

the in

Army

1900

as

Boer War and in World War i. Entered Parliament Conservative; belonged to Liberal party, 1906-24, then rejoined Con-

in 1895, served in

servatives. Member of the House from 1900 and holder of many ministerial posts. Fiercely opposed Conservative Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's policy of

appeasement towards Nazi Germany. appeared on stamps of six nations.

He

died in 1965. This photograph has

45

As a private citizen I approached Winston Churchill in 1941 with awe. He was more than the Great Man of the twentieth century; he was even more than an institution.

history. fast.

He had become, and

But

~ Mr.

as a

photographer

I

will always remain, a gigantic passage in

had

a

job to be done and

it

had to be done

human far

too

Churchill, as he was then, had been addressing the Canadian Parlia-

Ottawa on December 30; he was in no mood for portraiture and two minutes were all he would allow me as he passed from the House of Commons Chamber to an ante-room - two niggardly mmutes in which I must try to put on

ment

fdm

a

in

man who had

already written or mspired a library of books, baffled

biographers, filled the world with his fame, and me,

~ He

marched

German enemy.

in scowling,

and regarded

His expression suited

me

my

on

this occasion,

camera

perfectly, if

I

as

all his

with dread.

he might regard the

could capture

it,

but the

seemed somehow incompatible with such a solemn and formal occasion. Instinctively I removed the cigar. At this the Churchillian scowl deepened, the head was thrust forward belligerently, and the hand placed cigar thrust

between

his teeth

on the hip in an attitude of anger. So he stands in my portrait in what has always seemed to me the image of England in those years, defiant and unconquerable. With a swift change of mood, he came towards me when I was finished, extending his hand and saying, 'Well, you can certainly make a roaring lion stand still to be

~

photographed.'

45

SIRWINSTONCHURCHILL

M^.'l;'

f>

''•,*;-*''

--
.(*i^./*;./.

•NflE^

^^^1

^il

Augustus John O.M.

British painter

(1878-1961). Studied at the Slade School, 1896-9. Taught at

Liverpool University Art School;

member of New

English Art Club; Royal

Academician, 1928-38; re-elected 1940. Trustee of the Tate Gallery; President,

Many of known and most important paintings feature gipsy or peasant subjects; he himself spent much time in gipsy encampments. Examples: 'The Mumpers,' Society of Mural Painters; President, Royal Society of Portrait Painters.

his best

'Galway,' 'The Lyric Fantasy.' Also some major works in field of portraiture:

George Bernard Shaw and Dylan Thomas.

77

The

may seem somewhat melancholy, That quality of brooding remoteness was one close to his genius. But our meeting in 1954 was

English portrait painter Augustus John

grim, and alarming in

my

portrait.

of him and no doubt lay

side

warm and

gay.

England, and

What,

I

at

One of those it

afternoon teas was served that are the glory of old Mr. John's charming wife presided in their Hampshire home. '^

ventured to ask, did he think of portraiture by film

and brush? 'Well, of

as

compared

course,' he said, 'they are quite different media.

to canvas

You

can't

compare them. Yet both in their own ways are capable of great things. But then, you know that already. You have proved it with your camera.' •^ He made it clear that he had little use for most contemporary painters. The old masters were his idols. Michelangelo, Raphael, Rubens, Rembrandt - he spoke of them fairly

with candid idolatry. 'These great men,' he added, 'liked best to portray the

common

man.' So did John, as his portraits show.

When

I

compared

his

simple

yet powerful drawings to those of the immortals, he stood up suddenly in the sitting, bowed deeply and, with a comic flourish, announced: 'No honour can be paid to any artist.' ^-^ Luckily I seemed to have said just the thing to produce the mood of relaxation and rather wistful contemplation wanted to record - the look of the man who sees his own private visions of

middle of our greater right that

I

beauty behind the faces of his subjects. At any

rate, he was an ideal subject and our was getting late and I had to take my leave. At the door Mr. John put his arm around my shoulders and said a little plaintively, 'I wish I could offer you some further hospitality.' Already he had offered me much. But the thing I would remember was the simple integrity of the

time together passed

artist, his

past.

far

devotion to his

too quickly. ^^

own

ideals

He followed his own path and,

I

It

of art,

a master's loyalty to the artists

think, he followed

by modern fashion and inwardly happy with

78

it

of the

alone, quite undisturbed

his quest.

AUGUSTUSJOHN

"^'STk

Wyj

His Holiness Pope John

Born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli North Italy; died, 1963. Studied

in 1881, son at

seminary

of in

a

xxiii

peasant farmer in Lombardy,

Bergamo;

later

won

scholarship

Rome. Ordained, 1904; returned to Lombardy as secretary to Bishop of Bergamo and as a teacher at the seminary. Served as Chaplain in Italian army during World War Made an Archbishop, 1925, and given first diplomatic assignment - Apostolic Delegate in Bulgaria; promoted to Nuncio, 1930; sent to Turkey and Greece as Apostolic Delegate, 1934; appointed Nuncio to France, 1944; permanent observer of the Holy See to Unesco, 1952; returned to Italy on being made a Cardinal in 1953 as Patriarch of Venice. Elected Pope in 1958. During his reign the first Vatican Council in nearly a century was summoned. to the Pontifical Seminary,

i.

81

Having photographed Pope Fius since distributed in

on film the rugged, manly

to put

Once

xii

again,

however,

my

Holiness could spare only a

December

and happily produced

his favourite portrait,

milhons of copies throughout the world,

27, 1958,

I

Meanwhile, however,

I

task little

features

of

was made more time from

was unable was invited

to

his

I

his successor. difficult

many

duties.

was naturally eager Pope John xxiii. ~'

by the

photograph His Holiness

to attend a

Baciamano

fact that

Arriving in until

(literally,

His

Rome on

January

2.

hand-kissing),

ceremony which included only twenty-four persons, in the Hall of Tapestries. all kissed the Holy Father's ring and he, in turn, had appropriate words for each of us. Then he blessed us from the centre of the room saying 'Let me offer you a collective benediction that you may take it with you and share it with all those you meet in any part of the world.' Afterwards attended a General Audience in the Clementine Hall where the Pope addressed a large gathering from his throne, with the aid of a microphone, in Italian. asked one of the nuns what he had talked about and she replied with a smile, 'About his youth.' That same afternoon found myself in the Hall of Benedictions listening with fascination to Handel's Messiah presented by the Opera House of Venice, the city of which Pope John was Archbishop and Patriarch before his election. He was carried to the concert on his sedia and I noted that he had a special word of acknowledgment for his bearers. -^ By this time I had formed a clear and, I think, accurate impression a

We

I

I

I

of His Holiness a theologian

as a

compelling personality,

of genius no doubt, but

a

a simple, forthright

man among men and

human

already,

I

being,

should

suppose, a major figure in the long history of his Church, to which he had brought,

even

at his

imagination.

worry,

advanced age, an extraordinary power of leadership, and

~ That

arrived at

I

recalled a

also

of

impression was confirmed when, after several nights of

last in his

presence and went to work. Speaking in French,

newspaper headline, 'Le Pape

est

en prison' (The Pope

report, referring to his recent visit to convicts,

is

in prison).

seemed to amuse him. Then,

I

That as the

time was ticking away very slowly from the Vatican's point of view, and very

from mine, His Holiness asked me whether I was not tired. 'No, Your I said, 'but very anxious.' So I was, until the portrait was finally printed at my studio in Ottawa. As I left him, he imparted his blessings with a spontaneous fatherly smile, adding 'Bene, bene, bene.' Placing his hands on my shoulders he said, 'I wish you to enter into your diary that you have had the longest visit with Pope John to date.' swiftly

Holiness,'

82

POPEJOHNXXIII

1^^

-'^'»'^*fm^

V"^f

%

Yastmari Kaivahata

Japanese novelist and short-story writer (1899-1972).

First Japanese winner of the Began writing for the student magazine at Tokyo University; later joined the staff of Bmm^h Shimju, a literary journal, and in 1924 co-founded the avant-garde Buii^iei Jidai. His writing was influenced by the bereavements he suffered in childhood (by the age of sixteen he had lost his parents, his only sister, and his grandparents) and by traditional Buddhist literature. President of the PEN Club of Japan, 1948-65, and from 1959 Vice-President of the hiternational pen Club. Among his works best-known in the West are Snow Country (1957) and Thousand Cranes (1959).

Nobel

Prize in Literature, 1968.

S5

The Japanese have

a

charming custom: instead of honouring

their great

peerages or knighthoods, they give them the respectful treasure,' that

a

is,

one such 'human

title,

men with human

'living

person treasured by the entire nation. Yasunari Kawabata was

treasure,' the country's outstanding novelist,

and the winner of

him when

I was in search which toured that country in 1970. ~ We met in Kawabata's home in Kamakura, just behind a great bronze Buddha, near the sea. He had two houses really, a low, sprawhng, old one of traditional architecture, and a new wing still under construction that was

the

Nobel

Prize for Literature in 1968.

of prominent Japanese to include

mostly western

in

was guided

I

an exhibit of

to

my

portraits

lioth stood in a beautiful Japanese garden.

in concept.

The

sur-

roundings were eclipsed however by the presence of our serene and gracious host,

movement, held beauty. One felt his gentle underthe Nobel Prize, the first to any Japanese author, changed his life in any way? 'No,' he replied, 'there is no difference, only that thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Sweden to receive it.' We asked which of his After works was his favourite. 'I am not really satisfied with any,' he answered. asked whether he had some work of art that several pictures had been taken, whose every standing at

utterance, every

all

times.

^

Had

I

^

I

might be included. He said, 'Yes. Yes, I will go and fetch something that will please eye.' And with much ceremony and tenderness he brought out a square wooden box. Inside it lay a piece of funerary sculpture [haiiiwa) about two millennia old, an earthenware portrait of a child's head with a nose that perfectly your

~

We knew he had written some much talked-of from the Zen viewpoint. Did he think, we asked, that its many western enthusiasts could truly understand Zen? 'How can they thoroughly understand it?' echoed Kawabata's own. articles

he replied. consider

do

'I

me

not, although because

an authority.

see. Isn't religion a

ophy? 'Not exactly,

'I

have

86

I

this inaborisi,'

reflects

it.

it

people

People see in Zen what they wish to

both the observers and the vision?' -^

of life rather than

would

vision, a

occasionally write or speak of

I

only observe

mirror which

called himself an observer

word means a

I

a

He

combatant. Did he have a philos-

rather say a sense of beauty, a kind o{niaborisi.' This

phantom,

a mirage; the dictionary has

he continued, 'and

it

makes

me

no exact

translation.

pursue beauty.'

Y A

S

UN AR

I

K A

W

AB AT A

w

^x

.4i^

y

'^

7

«W^»^5--.*

' ^

S^ >»v>

W\

Nikita Sergeyevicli Khrushchev

of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 1953-64, and Chairof the Council of Ministers of the U.S.S.R. (Prime Minister), 1958-64. Born

First Secretary

man

1894; died 1971. Joined the Communist Party in 1918 and was active in Moscow and the Ukraine. Became a member of the Party's Central Committee in 1934, of its

Political

Bureau

in 1939.

During World

War

1 1,

sat

on Military Councils of

the Kiev Special Military District, Southwestern direction, Stalingrad, Southern

and

First

Ukrainian fronts. Chairman, Ukrainian Council of Ministers, 1947; Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and

Secretary of the Central Committee, First

Secretary of the

Moscow

Regional Committee, 1949-53;

Presidium, 1952-64. His leadership, following

of internal

restrictions,

a foreign policy

member of

the

was notable for relaxation increased emphasis on production of consumer goods, and Stalin's,

of 'peaceful co-existence' and competition with the west.

97

My photographic journey to the Soviet Union began in Chicago, when a member of

exchange group

a Russian cultural

among

To which

represented?'

U.S.S.R.' This was

my

in

world

these portraits of great

all

replied, 'Because

I

'And why, countrymen

lecture audience asked,

personalities, I

my

none of

is

have not been invited to

the stimulus to send a copy of

my

book.

Portraits

visit

the

of Greatness,

Chairman Khrushchev. '^ After some months, the Soviet Ambassador Ottawa phoned, greatly excited: the Chairman was pleased with my work. 'This is as good,' he exclaimed, 'as an engraved invitation from the White House or Buckingham Palace.' -^ In Moscow, many outstanding personalities in the sciences and arts and letters sat before my camera, but Khrushchev himself was on directly to in

How

vacation at the Black Sea.

most powerful of Office asked

me how much

difficult question,'

I

could

time

answered.

'I

with Kennedy, an hour and a

first real

return

home without

a portrait

of the

spring day,

I

had half a minute with De Gaulle, forty minutes half with Pope John, and two days each with

SibeUus, Casals, and Schweitzer.

cow's

I

members of his Praesidium? The Foreign would require with the Chairman. 'That's a

Russians and the

all

Take an

we were

average.' '^

On

driven to Khrushchev's

April 21, 1963, official

Mos-

dacha (country

home) outside the capital, a large, impersonal guest house free of ornamentation. The atmosphere was very relaxed. At precisely the appointed hour, twelve noon, Khrushchev and (to my surprise and delight) his entire family strolled across the wide lawn, their faces tanned and smiling. '^ As I watched Khrushchev's portly figure approaching, suddenly I thought, 'Here is a personality I must photograph in a big fur coat.' I asked the Press Officer for such a coat. He shook his head, 'i\7ef.' My alas, the garment was in mothballs in their Moscow making formal photographs of the affable Chairman, I switched the lights off, and to the surprise of the interpreter, I asked Khrushchev directly. 'Why not?' he replied. 'Of course.' Soon an aide appeared weighed down under the most voluminous fur I have ever seen. The Chairman then sent the aide

wife asked Mrs. Khrushchev; apartment.

~ After

to his private dacha nearby to fetch the knitted

woollen stocking cap to complete

'You must take the picture quickly,' the Chairman smiled, donning 'or this snow leopard will devour me.' ~ Mrs. Khrushchev, who was

the costume. the coat,

chatting with

my

wife,

was astonished when the

fur appeared. She bent

forward

'You know, that coat is the very one Harold Macmillan wore when he and my husband went tobogganing here together. Mr. Macmillan fell off- but my husband did not!' The Chairman exclaimed, 'This is Canada Day! Not only are you photographing me, but your intimately, and, with a twinkle in her eye, recollected,

Ambassador, Arnold Smith,

at

my

today to Siberia to inspect

invitation, flew

such tour by any Western diplomat.' ~'

is

the

first

chev whether he

felt

more

installations. It

at ease

with the then-new 'hot

line'

I

asked Khrush-

from Moscow to to save the world

Washington. 'Yes,' he said, 'but we need more than a hot line from chaos. We need a meeting of minds.' '~ Of course, I could not foresee then that, within eighteen months, this remarkable personage would be out of office. But on hearing the news of his fall, I could not doubt that in Russian history he would always remain a formidable landmark, the agent or at least the symbol of a decisive

and hopeful change

in his nation's life.

Here,

I

venture to think,

is

the face

of the eternal peasant, perhaps the collective portrait of a great people, painted

Cromwell, warts and

~"

98

like

all.

NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV

^j

•

'M *^

Martin Luther King^Jr.

American clergyman and

movement. Born 1929 in Memphis, Tennessee, in April 1968.

leader in the civil rights

Atlanta, Georgia. Killed by assassination in

Educated Morehouse College, Crozer Theological Seminary, Boston University. Pastor, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama. President,

Montgomery Improvement

Association.

Founder and

leader.

Southern Christian

Leadership Council. Author of Stride Towards Freedom, Strength

to

Love,

Why We

Can't Wait. Received several honorary degrees and other awards. Nobel Peace Prize winner, 1964.

lOI

In

August 1962

I

was asked

down

to hurry

Reverend Martin Luther King for

to Atlanta, Cieorgia, to

a national publication.

home from nearby Albany, where

photograph the

He had

just returned

months he had been leading the most

for

concentrated and sustained assault on segregation seen

till

then in the South.

by his oratory and example, hundreds of Negroes of all ages and backgrounds had allowed themselves to be herded into jail until the cells overflowed Inspired

He

with their protest.

had spent time

He

approval. citizens.

very

--^

in

but harbouring no hatred, not even dis-

This portrait was taken under the most

relax

commiserating on

new

vilified, attacked, arrested twice; he, too,

tired,

sought only that he and his people should be treated

Nowhere could he ning

found him

time, and the only place available

little

well,

himself had been

)ail. I

when

was

a

We

had

corner of Mr. King's church.

constantly beset by friends and aides wishing

his difficulties, congratulating

him upon

him

his return, plan-

What emerged in my mind and, trust, in the portrait, was the man and his clear vision of ultimate victory. This young minister,

strategy.

dedication of the

as first-class

difficult conditions.

I

only 33 when the picture was taken, had been leading the civil rights battle since the bus boycott in Montgomery six years earlier. He had already seen many barriers

he had helped to engender

fall;

a

the one in Albany,' he said, 'thousands of

with their heads buried.

walk with

a

warned of a

new

Now

new

and

militancy.

self-respect.'

He feared

are the rights

act,

he

a

movement

said,

^ What

They

of the future?

He

would depart from

from Gandhi and always

but not with hatred. 'Only

like

be walking around

still

that his people

the non-violent civil disobedience he had learned

lowed. Negroes must

'Without

spirit.

they have become organized and articulate.

sense of dignity

potential

new

Negroes would

when

fol-

the people act

on paper given life. But they must never use second-class methods to We must never succumb to the temptation to use violence.' ^^

gain those rights.

As

I

flew back to Ottawa that evening and the quiet coolness of Little Wings,

home on advance

and

the Rideau River,

rolls in

persistent

I

thought of something

on the wheels of inevitability.

work of

It

dedicated individuals.'

better than Martin Luther

else

he had

said:

'No

my

social

comes through the tireless efforts in America personified

No man

King the dedication of

his

people to their inalienable

rights.

102

MARTIN LUTHER KING,

JR.

f

.v.

.0S^

:'i\

Roppeita Kita

Japanese

begun

Noh

player,

born

in

Tokyo

in 1874.

The

popularity of the

Noh

to decline after the Meiji restoration in 1868; a subsequent revival

in the tradition

was

Kitaryu school of

largely

Noh

due to

plays had

of interest

He became the 14th head of the member of the Art Academy of Japan.

his influence.

players and a

105

Roppeita Kita

is

more than

— so revered that knees

in respect.

actors of the

all

who

a

At 90-plus, when

Noh

drama,

over seven centuries, so

a

it is

in

Japan. During his

I

life

he was

when he was on

a living shrine

stage

to their

fell

photographed him, he was one of the greatest

form of theatre which has been

filled

Japanese can fully appreciate eye,

legend

entered the theatre

so meticulously

refmed

with subtle symbolism, that even few contemporary all

the nuances of the performance.

fascinating but totally alien.

^

Kita's son,

and

his

To

the

Western

grandson, acted in the

same Noh company. The graceful young man in the portrait is Kita's grandson; I wanted to include him Ko stress the continuity of tradition. He proved most helpful, as well, in conveying messages by shouting - with the utmost respect - into the elder's ear. ^ The photograph was taken on the stage of the Kita Noh Theatre

Tokyo. The painted screen in the background was the only scenery: the pine symbolic of the Noh drama - and of eternity. The white post behind Kita serves a more practical purpose. Two such posts on the stage help to orient the principal actor, whose vision is restricted by the narrow eyeholes of an elaborate wooden mask. (The second actor is not permitted to wear the mask; he must make his face as mask-like as possible.) ^ The masks worn in Noh drama represent the nature of the characters portrayed. Before each performance, an actor imbues himself with that spirit, taking the mask reverently from its lacquer box, donning in

trees are

it,

and communing with

it

before the mirror. If he

the spirit of the mask, he fears, in his

way of breathing. This

is

it

will

show on

is

not in complete possession of

stage in his hands

more than putting on make-up;

and

gestures,

it is

psychological

even

^ There are no women in the Noh theatre; all feminine roles are men. played by Even the strongest, most virile actors are changed, and not only in carriage and movements: they seem to take on a feminine soul and spirit as well. transformation.

Kita's

own

dance for

was the Princess, an angel who descends from heaven to has found her robe, in the play, Hagoromo. (Perhaps was connected with his former passion for fishing - a hobby he

favourite role

a

fisherman

this attraction

who

could no longer pursue

when we

met, nor,

alas,

others caught.) -^ Before

we went on

room while

Kita

smoked

a cigar.

illumine the

Noh

stage with incandescent light,

Not

the stage, until a

asked whether he minded photographers, since

could he even eat the

we

sat

and talked

fish that

in his dressing

few years ago was it permitted to and then only for brief periods. I it is

absolutely forbidden to photo-

The old man admitted that once the idea of a camera portrait, particularly on stage, would have been abhorrent. But right after the war, American soldiers used to give him cigarettes, and in return for such treasures he had felt obliged to let them take his picture. Now he was used to it. His allergy to film had been overcome - through an addiction. graph the play

106

itself.

ROPPEITA KITA

^-Sl^^

.'^,'"*.

i''

..M!^^

iM0 k^'. *>

;

Jacques Lipchitz

At eighteen went to Paris, where he studied Beaux Arts and the Acadcmie Julian. First exhibited in 19 1 2 at the Salon d'Automne and the Salon National des Beaux Arts; first oneman show, 1920. Continued working in Paris until just before its occupation by the Germans, when he escaped to the south of France. In 1941 went to the United States, where he became established in New York through a series of one-man shows, and where he earned an international reputation as an innovator in sculpture. Died 1973. Sculptor, born in Lithuania in 1891.

sculpture at the Ecole des

109

The

vital patriarch

of contemporary sculpture, Jacques Lipchitz -

massive man,

a

no longer ramrod straight, but very strong studied me intently as arranged my hghting and camera at his Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, home. 'What a head thought then that to sculpt,' he murmured, 'I should like to do you in bronze.' I

I

this

70-odd-year-old giant was

weeks later, and meet again in Italy. The

being polite. Hut

reiterated that

three to

)ust

be the subject! Pietrasanta

is

tables

'1

really

mean

were turned, and

it

to me we agreed who would

when he telephoned and

this

1

am

time

serious,' it

was

I

^

The Fonderia d'Arte of Luigi Tommasi in the Tuscan hamlet of where Lipchitz worked most of the year. The location is in the

of great sculpture. Near the foundry are the Carrara marble quarries, and the path Michelangelo trod during the Renaissance in search of perfect white stone is still used today. The village is a magnet which draws pilgrims from the world tradition

of

art,

letters,

absorbing.

and

society.

He worked

in a

began to form from the

^

Observing Lipchitz' method of working proved

very pure fashion; one piercing glance and an image

inert clay -

with such intensity that any interruption

mood. soon found that if said anything, just to lighten the creative I sat for him. seven mornings, an tension, he would be completely distracted. hour and a half each day with a five-minute break at midpoint. We would then repair for lunch to what he called the 'Labourers Club.' I discovered this meant creative labourers - those who worked in the foundry transforming Lipchitz' small maquettes into colossal bronze reality. ~ The atmosphere of the club was like an idyll from an ancient Roman poet - the simplest of wooden benches, gravel floors, a roof of vines in the open air, good wine. Lipchitz enjoyed the honesty and earthiness of these surroundings. ~ Another aspect of Lipchitz - his extreme sophistication - was evident in his villa, a sixteenth-century structure he and his wife, YuUa, had renovated. Proud African warrior heads and animals stood silhouetted against the landscape from the loggia. '^ There was a magnificent collection of archaic statues and artifacts from man's ancient past. Of these, Lipchitz remarked, 'It's not only the aesthetic aspect (of these artifacts) which interests me, but the men who did it - what they felt. The men ... from all the ages ... are with me in this collection.' -^ It was his second such collection; the first he lost when he fled penniless from Europe to New York in 1941. After 1945 shattered his

I

I

^

he scoured the Continent seeking centipede looking frantically for a

his lost treasures, almost, as lost

arm.'

Now,

he told

us,

he put

it,

'like a

he would never

every day and not regret was spent on the Lipchitz loggia. Gathered together were three titans of contemporary sculpture: Lipchitz himself, Marino Marini, and Henry Moore. There was no common language in which all were fluent. Conversation was a polyglot of English, French, and Italian, yet there was great understanding between them. Beyond them stretched miles of Tuscan landscape that resembled a Renaissance painting. As I watched, the scene was pierced by storms and lightning, then cleared, then storms returned. It was a thrilling, almost Wagnerian, reminder in the presence of great art, of the spectacular power of nature. repeat this desperate search:

the past.'

'I

have

finally learned to live

~ One of the fascinating evenings of my

life

^

no

JACQUES LIPCHITZ

.«

-.V ,'.*»' t:^^. i>

Norman Mailer

Contemporary American novelist, born 1923 in Long Branch, New Jersey. Graduated from Harvard in 1943 with degree in aeronautical engineering. Served in U.S. Army in Pacific theatre. His first novel. The Naked and the Dead, published in 1946, was considered the finest U.S. novel of World War Subsequent books 1

include Barbary Shore (195

1.

The Deer Park (1955), The White Ne^ro (1957), Advertisements for Myself [igsg]. The Presidential Papers (1963), An American Dream (1965) and Why Are We in Vietnam? (1967). In The Armies of the Ni

^p

^

4**

^

V»^J^T^jf-'-y

'J^^wHBRP3Bf*»', .t;

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-:

,«-,•-

^j:.--^Va^:v

1

Georgia O'Keeffe

American artist. Born 1887 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Studied at Art Institute of Chicago (1904-5), Art Students' League, New York (1907-8), University of Virginia (1912), and Columbia University (1914-16). Commercial artist, 1909; supervisor of art for the public schools of Amarillo, Texas, 1912-14; instructor in

University of Virginia, summers 1913-16; head of art department. West Texas State Normal College, Canyon, Texas, 1916-18. Has confmed activities to painting since 1918. Became one of a group (including Marin and Dove) sponart.

sored by the photographer Alfred Stieglitz, first

An

exhibited by

American

him

at

whom

she married in 1924. Pamtings

291 Fifth Avenue, and later

at the

Intimate Gallery and

Place. After her husband's death in 1946 she spent three years cata-

loguing his collection and distributmg Since 1949 has lived in

flower painter, she

is

New

it

Mexico. Best

to

major centres

known

as a

in the

United

States.

highly original and daring

represented in the Tate Gallery, London, the Metropolitan

Museum of Art, New York

(which has also purchased a print of this photographic and the museums of Brooklyn, Cleveland, Detroit, Springfield, Mass., and Washington, D.c. portrait),

149

woman on

paper.' These were the words uttered by Alfred Stieglitz saw the drawings of the artist (leorgia O'Keetie, whom he was later came to Abiquiu, New Mexico, in 1956 to photograph this to marry. When remarkable woman who has so enriched American art, expected to fmd some of

'At

a

last,

when he

first

I

I

the poetic intensity of her paintings reflected in her personality, hitensity

I

found,

was the austere intensity of dedication to her work which has led Miss O'Keerte to cut out of her life anything that might interfere with her ability to express herself in paint. Her friend and fellow artist Anita Pollitzer has commented perceptively on Miss O'Keefle: 'A solitary person, with terrific powers of conbut

it

centration, she

is

so

m love with the thing she does that she subordinates all else in

order to win time and freedom to paint.

She has worked out

...

considered pattern of life, so unvaried that the average person it,

and she refused to allow anything to pull her away from

slightly in her

world.

...

Her

a simple, well-

would

it.

refuse to live

People figure very

decisions as to her use of time are very definite. Last

year [1949] she said to me: "I know I am unreasonable about people but there are so many wonderful people whom I can't take the time to know." She says that even in her student days she saw that dancing at night meant daytime lost from painting - so she refused to dance although she loved it. She decides carefully on each point,

what

to

have and what to give up. There

have never

known

is

nothing weak about her willpower.

her to have any regrets or envy.'

I

^ As though to concentrate

her vision inwardly Miss O'Keeffe has banished colour from her surroundings.

Her adobe home, with wide windows on every side overlooking the mountains, and almost completely empty of ornament, seemed stark to me, but when I asked Miss O'Keerte why she chose to live in such a remote area she replied, 'What other place

is

there?' In the

end

I

decided to photograph her

as

described her: 'Georgia, her pure profile against the dark

calm, clear; her sleek black hair

drawn

yet another friend had

wood

of the paneling,

swiftly back into a tight knot at the nape of

her neck; the strong white hands, touching and lifting everything, even the boiled eggs, as if they the black

150

were

living things - sensitive,

and white, always

this

slow-moving hands, coming out of

black and white.'

GEORGIA OKEEFFE

/^

J

I

>

Robert Oppenheimer

American

physicist (1904-1967).

Educated

at

Harvard, Cambridge, and Gottingen.

Professor of Physics, University of Cahfornia and Cahfornia Institute of Technol-

New Mexico, 1943-5; Chairman, General Advisory Committee to the Atomic Energy Commission, 1946-52;

ogy, 1929-47; Director, Los Alamos Laboratory,

Director, Institute for

Award of the

Advanced Study, Princeton, 1947-66. Received

the Fermi

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in 1963.

153

Dr. Oppenheiincr greeted ine warmly, in 1956, Study, Princeton.

He remembered

that

at the Institute for

we had met

briefly before

an important conference to keep our appointment. But

left

famous

scientist a certain brittleness

and

I

I

and

Advanced

now he had

detected in this

thought that the record of deep suffering

~

was written plainly on his face. After his experiences, this was hardly surprising. However, he proved most cooperative and, at my request, wrote down the names of six scientists whom he considered the world's most outstanding. Then, after he had finished, he smiled and added, 'If you asked me for a list tomorrow, most likely I'd

give

you

a different one.

died recently.'

He

Anyway, some of the

greatest

men

of our calling have

particularly regretted the untimely passing of Enrico Fermi.

Hut the atmosphere of that

sitting

was not hanging on

fascination an oddly shaped pork-pie hat

all

sombre. For

I

~

had noticed with

a peg, the last sort

of hat

on the head of a sober scientist. The story of that hat tells us something of the other Oppenheimer. He had been presented, he told me, with one of those huge ten-gallon cowboy hats from Texas and, thinking the brim far

you would expect

to see

with a pair of scissors. The result could hardly be called was happy to see, however, that this scientist, harassed by personal difficulties and by his knowledge of mankind's peril from the discoveries of science, could make a joke of his own. Indeed, I asked him to wear this whimsical headpiece. He did so with a laugh and I photographed him thus to record the But I was aware, of course, that the world of Oppenthinker's lighter side. heimer, behind the genial smile and schoolboy joke, was something like a hundred too wide, had cut a sartorial

it

triumph.

down I

~

away from my world, or that of any layman. One has only to read some of his simpler speeches and essays to see that this man was probing not only for a knowledge of scientific phenomena useful in our daily life but for ultimate light years

truths explaining the mystery of all life. I could appreciate, however, his blunt dictum on the future of man's life if human intelligence did not catch up with the march of weapons. 'Far beyond disarmament,' he said, 'one has to envisage a world of affirmative collaboration in the world's work between people irrespective of

nationality

...

the world has to be an open world in which, practically speaking,

secrets are illegal.' sacrifice, his

154

own

~ To

such a world Dr. Oppenheimer made, not without great

unique contribution.

~-

ROBERTOPPENHEIMER

Pablo Picasso

Pseudonym of Pablo

Ruiz; Spanish painter (1881-1973). Born and educated in Barcelona; a resident of France most of his adult life. Began to work in Paris in

1901; founded and led the Cubist School; designer for Diaghilev Ballet 1917-27; Director of Prado Gallery, Madrid, 1936-9. Lenin Peace Prize, 1962. Among his paintings are: 'Les Arlequins,' 'L'Aveugle,' 'La Famille du singe,' 'Massacre in

Korea,'

'War and

Max Jacob.

Peace,'

and

Also noted for

portraits

of Stravinsky, Cocteau, Apollinaire, and

his graphics.

157

'Picasso,' his friends

quite true.

A

had told me, 'doesn't

remarkable

artist,

who

care.' This, as

I

found to

my sorrow, was

kept the world of art on tip-toes and in a

state

of nervous exhaustion for years, he had the rare quality of simply not caring. Especially about appointments. My own experience was different. When I reached his home in tune for our arranged appointment in 1954 I found hnii out, but he had been delayed by the arrival of relatives at the airport. When he arrived, we

made

a

At the

new appointment,

gallery

I

at a local gallery

found everybody

sceptical

where

about

his

ceramics were on display.

my appointment:

they assured

me

would be futile to set up my equipment since Picasso so seldom kept his stood firm and, to everyone's amazement, the man engagements. However, whose every act was sensational caused yet another sensation by arriving exactly on time. Moreover, he had dressed up for the occasion. His magnificent new shirt made the attendants shake their heads in wonderment; whatever had come over A final surprise was in store. Picasso declared that he had seen my the old lion? work and it interested him greatly. would have taken this for mere flattery, in that

it

I

^

I

if he had not cited many of my portraits which evidently he had remembered. The sitting went smoothly, yet I am sure that such normality on his part was highly abnormal. '^ During a talk about his work, Picasso argued that the true norm of art must vary with every artist. Each

atonement for the previous day's delay,

had

his

artistic

own

laws. For this reason he objected strenuously to the legend

anarchy. His

work was

constructive, not destructive.

He was

of

his

a builder,

people thought differently, that was because they didn't underwhat he was trying to do. He was in fact trying to express his vision of reality and if it differed from other men's visions that was because any reality was real only to one man. It differed, for better or worse, in every human mind. Art, he said, began with the individual. Without him, there could be no art. With

not

a destroyer. If

stand

countless individuals there

158

would be

countless versions of art, of reality.

PABLO PICASSO

^--^•^

\

u,^

^

Jean-Paul Riopelle c.c.

Canadian painter. Born

One-man shows

in

in Paris,

Montreal

New

in 1923, but has lived in Paris since 1947.

York, and London; chosen for the Younger

European Painters Exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1953-4. In 1961 his paintings were selected for showing at the 42nd Pittsburgh International Exhibition (inaugurated by Andrew Carnegie to show 'old masters of tomorrow'); his works are in the Tate Gallery of London, the National Gallery of Canada, and in many private collections. He received a Canada Council Medal in 1966 and was created a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1969.

161

After climbing the

stairs to his

class district in Paris,

robust fellow. There in the guise

opened

I

is

a

found

top-floor

rooms

in the

of a rough-hewn

cavalier.

He welcomed

of wine, prelude to much good

a bottle

rue Frcmicourt,

working-

a

Canadian-born painter to be a very natural, courtly and gallant quality about him - a born gentleman this

painting hanging over the fireplace;

it

looked,

I

warmly and immediately

us

talk.

^

admired

I

remarked,

a circular

like a rosette in a

window. Riopelle had previously been amusingly critical of the and he replied to me in the same vein. Jokingly, he said, 'I'll tell you why did that. Because my dealers insist on evaluating the price of a canvas by the number of square inches in it; for the fun of it, I decided to confuse them and paint one that is round.' -^ Riopelle had been experimenting with new stained glass

established art critics I

media, and I

a piece

incorporated

ment has

it

of sculpture he had completed stood beside him

into the portrait. This print of this

dynamic

we

as

artist in his

been acquired by the National Gallery of Canada

since

photograph of

chatted;

environ-

as the first

newly-formed photographic archives. And Riopelle has painted another round canvas, especially for the Karsh home near Ottawa. Riopelle must be the fastest driver among the world's artists. To sit alongside him their

~

as his liugatti careens

along the narrow gravel-strewn French roads

ingly exhilarating experience.

Mediterranean, drinking

them

in

~ He

enjoys his

life

in France,

Montmartre, and helping younger

the use of his studio and materials.

~ He

is

is

a frighten-

yachting in the

artists

considered by the art

by lending critics as a

draws much sustenance from his French-Canadian background, and remains drawn to Canada, which he visits frequently. Riopelle's method of working is characteristic of the complete man. It is almost as if 'French' painter, yet he

still

~

his art

ing.

explodes from him.

Then

will

come

weeks; he will not

He

a period

eat;

will

go for weeks and even months without paint-

of intense, almost frantic

activity.

highly individual, textured interlacings of bright impasto.

compulsive urge

up energy

162

until

is

it

He

will paint for

he will not sleep; he will cover canvas after canvas with his

over will his labours also subside -

like a

~

Only when the comet that has built

explodes across the sky.

JEAN-PAUL RIOPELLE

Albert Schweitzer

French missionary-surgeon, founder of Hospital

Born 1875

in

Upper

at Lambarene, Gabon (1913). Alsace; educated at Universities of Strasbourg, Paris, and

Berlin; obtained degrees in philosophy, theology,

and medicine. Organist, J.S. and an expert on Bach's music. Awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. Wrote many books, on his work in Africa, on Bach, on religious subjects, and appeals for peace. Held many honorary degrees. Retired in

Bach Society,

Paris, 1903 -11,

1965 as Director of the Hospital

at

Lambarene and died

there the

same

year.

165

It

had taken

me

wondered how

long tune to meet

a I

1954

when he was all

CJrand Docteur.' For several years

home and

(now Gabon); then by good

Equatorial Africa

read

'le

should ever reach his

visiting his

home

luck,

town, Gunsbach,

I

I

had

Lambarcnc, French

hospital in

found myself

in Alsace.

in

France in

~ When one has

him from the distance, one fears below the imagined image. But he was all one

Dr. Schweitzer's works and long admired

man may

that the actual

fall

imagined he would be. felt at once, as all men do, the presence of a conscious Of course, he said, and immense wisdom, the stronger for its utter simplicity. my wife and I and my assistant must have lunch with him, and it was a luncheon frugal in the extreme. But after luncheon we were served with excellent coffee and I began then to get a glimpse of a universal mind which still had time for the smallest human detail. This coffee, he explained, was made from beans five years old. 'Coffee made from young beans is toxic. After the beans are about five years I

~

old they are medicinal, in fact beneficial.'

~ What struck me from the beginning

was this man's power to concentrate his mind totally on the business at hand. While the equipment was being prepared he went back to his writing as if he were alone in the room and then, when I was ready, he gave me his full attention. Of course a thousand questions were on my tongue and it was tantalizing to realize that I would not have time to ask a fraction of them. While we talked I watched

~

Dr. Schweitzer closely, especially his hands.

They were the fine hands of a musician

wished to photograph him holding some books, preferably an album of Bach, but he protested that to use Bach's music for this purpose would be like 'choucroute garnie.' Accordingly, with a shy smile, he brought out some of

and

his

a healer.

own

I

books.

And

then he revealed

a

very

human

side,

'They make

by declining to be look too old,' he

me

photographed while wearing his spectacles. SchweitIt was, of course, my hope not so much to make the portrait that said. when moment unconscious an possible, at if him, catch but to desire, zer might perhaps my camera might seize something of those qualities which made him great as a doctor, musician, philosopher, humanitarian, theologian, and writer. The

~

picture printed here tolerance,

and

was taken

in a

moment

of meditation.

~ Remembering his

asked

him how he thought

his ministrations to the African natives,

I

our time. Dr. Schweitzer looked

would be received if He were to appear up at me and in his quiet voice repHed, 'People would not understand Him at all. Which, then, did he consider the most important of the Ten Commandments? He thought about that for a long moment, the granite face was illuminated, the man behind the legend suddenly visible. 'Christ,' he said, 'gave only one Comin

Christ

mandment. And

j55

that

was Love.'

albert SCHWEITZER

¥

^'^>i

-f-O-'^i^'vJ^ \'. -^JT^

itvi

Hans

Selye c.c.

Research in

scientist, internationally

Vienna; studied medicine

noted for

at the

his studies

German

Research Fellow, Johns Hopkins University, 193

McGill University

of

stress in

humans. Born

University of Prague. Rockefeller 1.

Appointed

to the staff

in 1933, rising to associate professor. Since 1945, Professor

of

and

Director of the Institute of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of

Montreal.

Expert consultant to the Surgeon-General, U.S. Army,

1947-57.

American Foundation for High Blood Pressure. Holds many honours. Has written and published over iioo scientific papers Director, Scientific Council,

relating to his research as well as

(1974) and

Stress in Health

many

books, including Stress Without Distress

and Disease (1975).

169

your highest attainable aim, but do not put up resistance in vain.' When my visit and photographic session with Dr. Hans Selye at the of Experimental Medicine and Surgery of the University of Montreal,

'Fight for I

returned from

Institute

I

found the above quotation on a little card he had tucked into the pre-publication copy of his forthcoming book. The Stress of Life. He had inscribed the book to my wife, Estrellita, a medical writer. since

it

was the

\

le

knew

time he had explained

first

would find it especially fascinating, complex theory of disease, the now-

she his

famous concept of stress, in language the general reader could understand. ^ The words, 'Fight for your highest attainable aim,' were the essence of our conversation, as Dr. Selye

animals, he and

took

his

'syndrome of being

me

through

his laboratories

many

research assistants

sick.'

^

He

where, using experimental

recalled his

were trying to find out about the early days when, as an enthusiastic

immense possibilities which he thought lay in the study of the 'non-specific damage' to body organs which accompanies all diseases. In well-meaning heart-to-heart talk, the established scientists had urged him to abandon this 'futile, dead-end line of inquiry.' No one seemed to take seriously what had become the ruling passion of Dr. Selye's life: to pursue his search for the mechanism by which Nature fights disease and other One day, into his then-crowded little laboratory, came injuries to the body. Sir Frederick Banting, the renowned Canadian scientist and Nobel laureate,

young

investigator,

he tried to

interest older colleagues in the

~

co-discoverer of insulin. Sitting informally on Dr. Selye's desk. Sir Frederick listened attentively and offered help in securing financial aid. Most of all, he offered

moral support. 'I often wonder,' mused Dr. Selye, 'whether I could have stuck to my guns without his encouragement.' -- Dr. Selye explained to me that stress comes not only from receiving bad news, or suffering an illness; happy emotions, too - finding an exciting job, falling in love - are also stressful. As we finished our

his

tour,

prior to photography, an incident occurred

which caused him mixed

hallway outside his experimental laboratory he has hung photographs of scientists and humanists who have inspired him, for in an era of scientific iconoclasts. Dr. Selye refreshingly remains a hero worshipper.

emotions - and

stress.

Such luminaries physician of the

my

favourites,

the portrait to send

170

him

as

last

--

In the

Louis Pasteur and Sir William Osier, the most revered

hundred

years, lined his walls.

your portrait of Albert Einstein

was missing! The

first

thing

I

did,

...'

'And here,' he began, 'is one of His voice trailed off in mid-air

upon

arriving back in Ottawa,

was

a replacement.

HANS SELYE

V

l\f\\

Ravi Shankar

Indian sitar player, teacher, and composer; the first Indian instrumentalist to gain an international reputation and to introduce Indian music to the Western world. Born in Benares, 1920. Among his many compositions have been scores for a number of films, including Father Panchali, The Flute and the Arrow, and Charly.

Encounters in Paris with musicians to his desire to introduce

United

States

who had no

to the West,

and

appreciation of Indian music led

he gave his first recitals in the and the United Kingdom. Since then, his recitals and recordings it

in 1956

have enjoyed increasing popularity in the West. He has taught at universities in the United States, and in 1967 he opened a branch of his music school in Los Angeles.

173

There was no

dirticulty in fmding the apartment occupied by Ravi Shankar in the York hotel where he had invited me to meet him before our photographic session. The fragrance of curry wafting through the corridor was guide enough. ^-'

New

I

had spent the previous evening

Lincohi Center.

He

played,

on

at a

the music of hidian ra^as, built

sitar,

on the basic melodies. The one's enjoyment and understanding.

provisation

quickly established with his audience,

They were very I

different

was accustomed

disciples

to

fmd

concert given by this Indian musician at

his ancient native stringed

from the

on exotic artist's

No who

instrument called the

notes, fresh with constant

verbal introductions added

less

fascinating

clustered

im-

much

to

was the rapport he

round him

after the concert.

traditionally dressed concert-going audiences

at that hall:

here was the youth of today, obviously

many Western devotees in recent best-known among them including such musical extremes as the Beatles

of Shankar. His music has intrigued

years, the

Yehudi Menuhin, with whom he has cut records. -^ on a broad platform covered with Indian throws. In my New York apartment, where we went for his portrait, I opened a table and covered it with one of these throws. He immediately removed his shoes; barefooted, he climbed up and sat cross-legged, with his sitar. Next he took off his wrist watch, as if to remove all traces of contemporary Western civilization, and laid it beside him. He took a little container of oil and moistened the tips of his and the

classical violinist,

Ravi Shankar performs

in public

And then he began to He played for the rest of the from New York; we were in

fingers with oil-soaked cotton, as he tuned the strings.

play.

He performed as

sitting

India, his

if

my studio were a temple.

almost without interruption.

We

were

far

-^

enchanted by themes of summer, of darkness, of war, of love. All the time

remarkable, expressive face echoed the sentiment of the music.

It

was

a perfect

empathy of man and instrument.

174

RAVI SHANKAR

George Bernard Shaw

Irish

playwright, novehst,

critic,

and philosopher; one of the founders of the

at Ayot St. Lawrence, England, Wesley College, Dublin, and received some training in music and painting at home. Went to London, 1876. Began to come into prominence in 1885 as music critic (writing under the pseudonym Corno di Bassetto for the Star and later the World), drama critic, book reviewer, and propagandist for socialism. Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, 1925, His published works include some

Fabian Society, 1884. Born in Dublin, 1856; died 1950. Educated at

fifty plays

and many novels,

perhaps the plays

St. Joan,

essays, treatises, etc. Best

Dilemma, and Heartbreak House, and the essays The Intelligent

Woman's Guide

known among

these are

Major Barbara, Pygmaliort, Arms and the Man, The Doctor's

to

Perfect

Wagnerite and The

Socialism.

177

Every obstacle was

in

my way when

begin with, his secretary

down

laid

I

met George Bernard Shaw in 1943. To and quite impossible terms. I was to man. There were to be no lights. could

first

drastic

have five minutes only with the great

I

was arguing vainly Shaw himself use nothing but a of a young man, though he was then the energy room with the into came bursting almost ninety years old. His manner, his penetrating old eyes, his bristling beard, 'miniature camera.' While

and --

crisp speech

Shaw

were

all

me and, in the beginning, they succeeded. why should photograph him anyway.

designed to awe

he could see no reason

said

I

I

I

explained that the Ciovernment of Canada wished to have in the

National Archives

at

a

good

portrait of

him

Ottawa. 'Since when,' he retorted, 'does the Canadian

a good picture when it sees one? And in any case why did they Augustus commission not John at a thousand guineas and make sure of the job? If John did it, the job would be good - or at any rate everybody would think so.' Plucking up my courage, suggested that perhaps had been assigned to make the In the end I had all the time I wanted and I think portrait for that same reason.

Government know

I

I

~

Shaw enjoyed plays,

himself. For he

was

and he obviously loved to

a better actor act.

than

many who

appeared in his

His favourite role seemed to be that of

a

sort of harmless Mephistopheles, or the grumpy wicked uncle with a heart of gold. He After he had tested me with preliminary terror we got along beautifully. said I might make a good picture of him, but none as good as the picture he had seen at a recent dinner party. There he had glimpsed, over the shoulder of his

~

hostess,

what he took

to be a perfect portrait of himself- cruel,

diabolical caricature but absolutely true.

and found

that living image,

peered

at

me

caught him

in

my

portrait.

he was looking into

that

quizzically to see if

He had pushed by

I

appreciated his

~ Later

little

you understand,

a mirror!

joke.

It

The

old

was then

on, a noted British journalist asked

which he proposed

a

the lady, approached

to have autographed

man

that

me

I

to

by Shaw.

prepare a copy of

this picture

To his chagrin, he

received the picture with Shaw's signature scrawled on the back

of

it.

that

When asked my signature

distract

1-78

from

for an explanation

Shaw

should not distract from

replied:

my

'I

face.'

was careful to make sure Nothing could, I think,

that face.

^^

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

0^^^]

':\

f-

mi.

Jean Julius

Sibelius

Finnish composer (1865-1957). Educated at Helsinki University and at Berlin and

Vienna Conservatories. to retire

In 1897 Finland

gave him

a life grant

and devote himself to creative work. His music

is

on which he wzs able

profoundly individual,

and poetic in character. His works, among the best known of which are and The Swan of Tuonela, include seven symphonies, a violin concerto, about two hundred compositions for piano and over a hundred songs. Held many honorary degrees. national,

Finlatidia

181

One day whan was photographing an I

rang. 'Helsinki ruption.

'On

on the

line,* a

the contrary,'

I

official

of Shell Oil, London, the telephone

secretary said.

The

said, 'Helsinki

has a magic sound in

official

apologized for the inter-

my

ear.'

I

told

him of my long but thwarted ambition to photograph Sibelius. Wires were soon humming, both telephonic and telegraphic, between the British and Finnish found myself on the threshold of a simple house in capitals and soon afterwards I

Jarvenpaa, near Helsinki, a house built for Sibelius by a grateful nation, a shrine The man who ushered me into his home in 1949 was for all lovers of music.

~

well into his eighties, and near the end of his

wonderfully

alert,

and he told

me

life.

mind was news of the world in

His hands shook but his

that he followed the

~ We

spent a leisurely day of photography punctuated, at intervals, with breaks for coffee, cakes, and brandy. Sibelius would call for a toast and then raise an empty glass. 'You see,' he explained, 'I never drink before dinner.' He seemed to be a happy man full of infectious laughter. His little jokes were uttered careful detail.

had no Finnish and he little English, but sometimes, stuck for a in French, since Towards the word, he appealed to one of his daughters, who translated for him. end of the day when Sibelius appeared fatigued 1 told him a little story. During the Russo-Finnish war, I said, there were many Finns cutting- timber in the Canadian North and, hearing the dire news from home, they brooded and slackened in their work. Production in the camps began to drop. The foreman, with sudden I

~

of Finlandia and piped it to the loggers in the woods. Immediately, the output of timber doubled. Sibelius rocked with mirth. 'You're fantastic!' he cried, 'One never gets tired working with you.' -^ I was not satisfied with that day's work, however, and suggested another sitting. He agreed, and I returned next morning when the portrait printed here was made. ^^ inspiration, acquired a recording

Before leaving

I

presented

him with

admirers in England. As Sibelius offerings should have been

them

all

with delight.

five years

made

various

said,

at the first,

~ When he said

gifts

entrusted to

me by some

of

his

with another chuckle, these introductory not the

good-bye

last,

moment. He accepted tow-headed boy of

a barefoot,

appeared from nowhere, the composer's great-grandson, and stood man with his hands clasped as if in worship. The sun poured over

before the old

young and the very old, destiny yet ahead and Nothing could have done justice to the flaxen hair of the child, the gentleness of the aged man. Some pictures are better left in memory alone.

the profile of these two, the very destiny fulfilled. to

182

-^^

JEANSIBELIUS

Edward Steichen

American photographer. Born in Luxembourg, 1879; family emigrated to the United States when he was three. Studied painting in Paris for two years, and has since spent periods

was

in

command

of his

life

of

U.S.

all

Served in both World Wars, and in 1946 Navy combat photography. He assembled 'The

in France.

Family of Man' exhibition, consisting of over 500 photographs, which opened in January 1955 and in the next nine years was seen by more than nine million people in 69 countries. Among his numerous awards have been the U.S. Camera Achieve-

ment Award

(1945, 1949,

and 1963), the Premier Award of the Photographic Medal of Freedom

Society of Great Britain (1961), and the U.S. Presidential (1964).

185

'To every branch of photography he has brought portrait

graphic

own

his

inventive genius, and

my caption under the of the venerable photographer, Edward Steichen, in my one-man photowas a young and exhibition, 'Men Who Make Our World.' ^ When

pioneered in estabhshing photography as an

art.*

So reads

I

struggling photographer,

I

month

turned eagerly every

zine Vanity Fair for inspiration.

The

time

first

photographed

I

maga-

to his pages in the this giant,

during

World War,

I was very nervous and Steichen, understanding this, was During the intervening years Steichen's face took on the was anxious to record what endless, quality of an Old Testament prophet, and restless experimentation, deep thought, and photographic innovation had etched.

the Second

especially encouraging.

1

~ The patriarch

of American photography was nearing his 90th year when this was taken in 1967 at his home in West Reading, Connecticut. He was still and vital, and he walked all the way to his greenhouses of prize-winning

portrait

erect

delphiniums to greet

us.

~ Steichen

stopped frequently to pet his two beloved

named Tripod, and an enormous

dogs, a soulful three-legged beagle appropriately

We

walked together around the property, and Steichen knew and loved every leaf and tree. His botanical knowledge was encyclopaedic. Steichen's home is almost cantilevered over a small lake which bumptious

wolfhound, Fintan.

Irish

~

me

reminded

of the

series

of paintings of water

ever photographed the French Impressionist? replied. 'As a

young man

train ride to the

lilies

'How

by Claude Monet. Had he strange

you

did once go to Monet's home.

ask,'

Steichen

I

took the long

country on an extremely hot summer day, lugging

many pounds

in Paris

of heavy camera equipment on

summon up

I

my back.

But

when

I

got to Monet's front door,

I

Three times I reached for the bell rope, and three times I withdrew my hand. I was so intimidated by the thought of that great man, I carried everything home again without a picture.' It is remarkable to think that so daring a photographer could ever have been so

couldn't

timid.

and

~

me

that walk he took his first photograph in many years, of my wife background of magnolia blossoms. On that occasion, I cheerfully 'camera assistant.' The late afternoon of our visit was grey and rainy.

During

against a

acted as his

My

the courage to ring the bell.

wife remarked,

'What

a pity

it is

not a beautiful day.' Steichen looked

compassion, touched her arm and, half-smiling,

with

infinite

life is

a beautiful day.'

^ Over dinner, we

at

her

day of talked about the future of photography said, 'Every

and about the education of young photographers in particular. Steichen said, 'Photography is both extremely difficult and extremely easy.' To set a lens opening, to press a button - these are technical operations

mood or

and can be learned. But to capture

demands a creative insight and a searching eye. I too, have always hoped that young photographers would cultivate an interest in the humanities and become well-rounded human beings. ^^ Two weeks later, there arrived in the mail a gift from Steichen - three of his most famous original prints: the definitive portrait of Greta Garbo with her hair pulled back, the montage of Rodin contemplating his famous sculpture, 'The Thinker,' and the revealing portrait of the tycoon, J. P. Morgan. Steichen's inscription I shall always treasure: 'With remembrance of a fine day of work and play - with affection and devotion to my distinguished colleague, Yousuf Karsh.' a

186

inner spirit

EDWARD STEICHEN

y jj

%

//^X

l«

John Ernst Steinbeck

American

novelist of

1902; died in is

a reflection

coast;

had

he made Prize.

Moon

a

his

German and Northern

December

Irish descent;

born

in California in

Much

of his work of his native district, the Californian interior valleys and the Monterey 1968. Educated at Stanford University.

thorough knowledge of marine biology. Tried his hand at many jobs; name in literature with Grapes of Wrath, which won the 1939 Pulitzer

Other books include: is

Europe

Down, as

East of Eden,

Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row, The and The Short Reign of Pippin IV. In 1943, he went to

correspondent for the

he travelled extensively, writing

New

York Herald Tribune. After

articles

World War

11,

and reports for various magazines and

newspapers. Nobel Prize for Literature, 1962.

The American author who

writes of exceedingly earthy characters maintained in

The gate was opened for me, in 1954, by a butler in black coat and striped trousers. '^ There were, however, difficulties in this impres-

Paris a very elegant address.

sive setting. Sunshine

poured into the room, curtains had

electricity supply, as usual in the eccentric sufficient.

Moreover,

a

to be changed,

power system of

continuous stream of people poured through the

the author's wife, his children one after the other, and his secretary.

procession was interrupted for a

moment

I

seized the chance,

and the

France, proved in-

room

When

-

the

abandoned the French

current, and took this portrait with electronic lights. -^ little

during the

sitting.

His

mind was on

urgent questions brought by his secretary.

his It

Mr. Steinbeck had talked business and on the many

own

seemed

that a craftsman skilled in

revealing the character of other people guarded himself jealously

eyes - that here was a courteous but reticent

man who

from prying

did not wear his heart on

However, over refreshments served on the terrace, he thawed somewhat and volunteered an amusing little story to prove, as he said, how difficult it sometimes is to be the wife of a celebrity. Mr. and Mrs. Steinbeck, it appeared, had been entertained recently at a large reception of some sort when Zsa Zsa Gabor, the impetuous movie star from Hungary and Hollywood, arrived in her usual flutter. She caught sight of Mr. Steinbeck and rushed at him, oozing charm. 'But John,' she purred, 'you are the one man I have wanted to meet for, oh so long!' Then she his sleeve.

launched into what Steinbeck called

'a

very intimate conversation,' ignoring

endure this invasion no Gabor and announced, in a cold voice: 'Miss Gabor, I am Mrs. Steinbeck.' That, apparently, ended that. At the recollection, Steinbeck permitted himself a rumble of laughter. I saw in him then for the first time, a long way from his home, some of the qualities of the life in his

everyone

else

around

her. Finally, Mrs. Steinbeck could

longer. She thrust herself between Steinbeck and

books.

"^ 190

JOHN STEINBECK

Igor Stravinsky

Russian-born composer. Born

St.

Petersburg 1882; studied law at

St.

Petersburg

University and music under Rimski-Korsakov. Naturalized French subject in 1934,

became

a

several

symphonies and concertos, and

48 years,

New

U.S. citizen in 1945, and died in

positions include: VOiseati de feu, Petrouchka,

he returned to

York City

in 1971.

ballet music. In 1962, after

his native land to

Com-

Le Sacre du printemps, Orpheus,

conduct

of the government of the U.S.S.R., and received

his

ow^n works

a hero's

at

an absence of the invitation

welcome.

193

was said by his good friend Aldous Huxley that Igor Stravinsky was one of those happy intellectual amphibians who seem to be at home on the dry land of words or in the ocean of music. So found him. Hut his words were not dry, if that word means dull. On the contrary, speaking in a free mixture of English and French, It

I

he entertained

my

wife and myself in California, in 1956, with a one-man sym-

wise. ~ Hefore getting down to work, he said, we must have refreshment and relaxation. Whether working or relaxed, Stravinsky

phony of conversation, witty and

does not exhibit any of the so-called

artistic

temperament. However, he did

rooms which could be used for photography. Indeed, the space at my disposal was so small that I said I hoped in the next world I would enjoy a little Like more elbow room. To which he replied: 'Not only you, Mr. Karsh!' some of the other composers have photographed, Stravinsky complained that orchestra conductors in general never asked composers how their work should be restrict the

~

I

They believed they knew better than the men who wrote it the proper method of rendition. Yet most conductors didn't understand eighteenth-century music at all. They thought even Bach should be played in a romantic style which was never his intention. ~ Then Stravinsky took off, with acidulous eloquence, about music critics. Few of them, he said, were really qualified fiiusicians, but they had successfully created a cult of the conductor, regardless of merit. As a result, many conductors had become little more than showmen. 'It's easier, you know,' he remarked, 'to become a critic of writing or painting than of music. Everyone can read or look at a painting but few of the music critics can read music properly.' '^ He talked at length about music recordings which, he admitted, had improved greatly in a mechanical sense. But that did not necessarily mean improved music. Stravinsky was one of Some of.the older records were by far the best musically. the few creative artists I have met who have shown deep interest in their wives' work. Madame Stravinsky, a painter of talent, was unfortunately absent at the moment but Stravinsky observed, with obvious pride, that she was attending an exhibition of her work at Santa Barbara. '^ He had a strong admiration also for the artists of the written word. In his little library he showed me some photographs of Tolstoi, Verlaine, T.S. Eliot, Aldous and Julian Huxley, and Virginia Woolf, I also discovered that he admired and was a connoisseur of among others. tobacco. Wherever he went, he told me, he carried his own cigarettes, made by In an Armenian in the United States, of Turkish tobacco and English paper.

played.

~

^

~

everything,

expressed

homme

194

I

thought,

my own

n'est

this

man

pleasure in

is it

a perfectionist, especially in his

work.

When

I

he quoted from Oscar Wilde in French: 'Un

vraiment intelligent que par son

travail.'

-

IGORSTRAVINSKY

ir^:

^:^

1 i

Helen Taussig

Born

1898. Paediatric cardiologist. Graduated in Medicine

from Johns Hopkins

University in 1927 and became a John D. Archbold Fellow of Medicine.

From

1930 to 1936, director of the Harriet Lane Cardiac Clinic. As head of the paediatric cardiology group and because of her long interest in congenital heart disease, she

proposed to Dr. Alfred Blalock,

a

surgeon

at

Johns Hopkins, the development of

surgical procedures for the relief of pulmonary artery stenosis in cases

of Fallot. Thanks

measure to her

clinical judgment

of tetralogy

knowledge world renown. Some years later, alerted by a former student then practising in Germany, she investigated the German thalidomide disaster while its causes were still conjectural, and was instrumental in averting a similar catastrophe in North America. Among her honours: Master of the American College of Physicians, member of the U.S. National Academy of Science, past president of the American Heart Association. in large

of paediatric cardiology,

and

special

their 'blue baby' operation achieved

197

photographed Dr. Alfred Hlalock, the surgeon who developed the operawhich gives 'blue babies' a chance for life. That picture appeared in my earlier book, Portraits of Croitncss. Twenty-five years later, photographed the remarkIn 1950

I

tion

I

able

was

woman who at

suggested the surgical approach to him.

the Baltimore airport to meet

77, she remained an arresting

woman, with

a direct gaze, the quintessence

were greeted and

of

a

At

peaches-and-cream complexion and

intellectuality, innovation,

home by two romping

her country

Dr. Helen Taussig

dogs,

a

and femininity.

We

gentle golden retriever,

dachshund called 'K.K.' (after Kleine Knabe, which means German). 'The wonderful thing about dogs,' Dr. Taussig remarked

a capricious little

'Little

as

at

^

my wife and me and drive us to her home.

Hoy'

in

we made

friends with her pets,

'

is

that they

grow

old but they never

grow

up,

world-renowned paediatrician. Later, after lunch, she worried at length over what to wear for her portrait, settling finally on a blue dress that matched her eyes. ^ Dr. Taussig's father was a professor of economics at Harvard University, but since Harvard and so they are eternally

children.' Rather

charming from

a

^

women

students until 1952 she took her first scientific There her study of cardiology began when an instructor threw an ox heart her way and said, 'Here! See what you can make of this.' Later she enrolled in medicine at John Hopkins University, and never left,

Medical School accepted no

training at Boston University.

bringing additional honour to that great institution. -^ Three years after gradua-

was appointed director of the Harriet Lane Cardiac Clinic, the oldest North America until it was torn down recently to make way parking lot. There her compassion was aroused by the tragic infants whose for a cells, because of a malformation of the heart, were so starved of oxygen that the babies literally turned blue and, eventually, died. The Blalock-Taussig shunt which tion, she

paediatric clinic in

she proposed gave these children a reprieve

further definitive surgical repair.

found her survivors.

still

active, recording

Many,

teachers, social

she found, had

workers -

fighting for breath,

life

until they

were old enough

for

what had happened to the early 'blue baby' gone into service occupations - doctors, nurses,

as if they,

would

on

^ Twelve years after her official retirement, we who had

spent their infancy in hospitals

thus repay the gift of

life.

^

In the

new, beautifully

designed Helen Taussig Cardiac Clinic, she showed us around without

false

few days before, and when the mother learned that it was Helen Taussig herself who was examining her daughter, she was greatly touched. The mother told us that when her little girl had been wheeled up to the operating room, the blanket had fallen away and exposed an ankle that was deep blue. A few hours later, when the baby modesty. The healthy child

in the portrait

had been

a 'blue

baby' only

a

was pink. To the mother it was the greatest miracle imaginable. was wrong? If Harvard Medical School had admitted women in 1920, Dr. Taussig and Dr. Blalock might never have been colleagues - and that child, and thousands of others, might not be alive today.

returned, her foot

^ Who

198

is

to say she

^^^

HELENTAUSSIG

i-u'^:>'^.'

.>^'V''''^>

•

jr

/

f

*^^^ *

Tennessee Williams

American playwright. Born 1914; educated at Universities of Missouri, Iowa, and Washington (St. Louis). Awarded a Rockefeller Fellowship in 1940 for playwriting; in 1943 received a $1,000 grant from the National Institute of Arts and Letters and won Pulitzer Prizes in 1948 and 1955. His plays include: The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, Summer and Smoke, The Rose Tatoo, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Camino Real, The Night of the Iguana; he has also written many successful film plays.

Tennessee Williams' reply to

my

desire to

decided that the portrait should be realize that this )ovial,

seldom

at peace.

^

photograph him was enthusiastic and

We met in his small New York apartment in

spontaneous, like his plays.

made

in his

own

homespun man contained

a

environment, and

tumultuous

talent

Superficially, the plot for this sitting - a sort

1956 and I

came

and

a

to

soul

of minor play

comedian and the photographer the master in the scene of his work, as his surrounded by his typewriter, his manuscript, and his ever present glass of Scotch. Moreover, he seemed to be surrounded by invisible friends. His telephone was rather

on the comic side, with Mr. Williams had found foil - was quite perfect.

as the

I

constantly ringing as

desire to co-operate with

pinch enabled

us,

the deliberate purpose of distracting me. '^ His obvious

if for

me and

the feigned calm

however, to deal with

I

can sometimes

invisible friends -

command

and some

visible

in a

ones -

and to get on with the portrait. -^ I asked him whom he considered the greatest American actress. He mentioned no woman born in America but remarked that Anna Magnani, the Italian, had acted in American movies and therefore might be technically within

my

definition.

member of

greatest living

And

he

left

her profession.

It

no doubt was

that he considered her the

for her,

he

said, that

he had

The Rose Tattoo. ^-^ At the moment he was working on Orpheus Descending, which had been a failure on its first presentation. 'It was performed,' he told me, 'only once, before a Boston audience, and the critics decided it should At last the portrait was done expire - and it did.' He was therefore rewriting it. specially written

^

and when like

I

showed

Williams' plays.

manner,

his

and carefree air reminded me of various characters pen - ordinary-looking men hiding an unsuspected fury which

invariably erupts rather shyly to

burning with fellows.

some of my friends they remarked that it looked exactly Perhaps. At any rate, the playwright's deceptive ease of

to

his informal speech,

made by

is

it

He

on the

me, and

a sense

of

stage, often in tragedy. ~'

he has written

as

and desperate

life

cannot communicate

a certain sense

of

it

social restraint

As Mr. Williams admitted

moments of candour, he is a man to communicate it somehow to his

in

freely in conversation because, he says, there

even among friends meeting face to

the great, dark, faceless audience of the theatre he can at

any

reticence.

~ The public knows

nobility he can thus speak.

canic inward fire

I

hope

last

face; to

speak freely without

with what power and sometimes with what

this portrait catches at least a

which makes each of his plays

a sort

of

spark of that vol-

spiritual

convulsion and

leaves the audience limp with spent emotion.

202

TENNESSEEWILLIAMS

,A,-,sIf

jW

^ -tS.

Printed in Switzerland

Born

Mardin, Armenia, on December 23, 1908,

in

Yousuf Korsh massacres.

grew up under

the horrors of the

1924 he was brought

In

uncle; after brief schooling

was apprenticed pher noted for

Garo

,.

^.

Ottawa

in

in

cabinet ministers,

came before his lens. made a memorable portrait of Sir

ne

Winston Churchill

symbolized

that

Britain's

unconquer-

able bulldog courage and that brought Karsh into

Some

national prominence.

years later

it

was used

commemorative stamps by

basis of Churchill tries,-

1932.

visiting

er dignitaries

'

DeceiTioci

a photogra-

of Boston,

present studio

his

stC In

his

Sherbrooke, Quebec, he

in

became known,

h

Armenian

Canada by

his portraiture.

Karsh opened

As

John

to

to

eleven other of

six

inter-

as the

coun-

have also appeared on

his portraits

postage stamps. Portraits with the familiar right

have appeared

and Karsh

in

"Karsh of Ottawa" copy-

publications

over the world,

all

been the subject of numerous articles

himself has

newspapers, popular magazines, and photographic

in

Who Make

"Men

books.

over one hundred Karsh

Expo '67 and

for

Our World," an was

portraits,

museums

touring major

is still

exhibition of

initially

prepared in

Europe

and North America. Seven

have conferred honorary degrees

universities

upon Yousuf Karsh, and Ohio Visiting Professor in the first

photographer

Honorary Master

receive the

to

Canadian Academy

University appointed him

School of Fine

of Arts

and

Arts,-

Medal

the

first

of Photographic Arts

sional Photographers of

Canada.

In

he was the

of the Royal

to

be made an

by the Profes-

1971 he

was awarded

the Presidential Citation (U.S.A.) for meritorious service

on behalf of the handicapped. Karsh's tions of the

Museum the Art

work

is

represented

Museum

of Art

Institute

in

of

Modern

in

the

Art

permanent

and

New York, The Philadelphia Art Museum,

of Chicago, the National Gallery of

ado, and other leading museums.

Jacket design by

NEW YORK 11

collec-

the Metropolitan

Beacon

Ann Lampton

Curtis

GRAPHIC SOCIETY Street,

Boston 02108

Can-

Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin Michael Collins Neil A.

Armstrong

Muhammad

Ali

Marian Anderson Joan Baez Pablo Casals Fidel

Castro

Marc Chagall Prince Charles Sir

Roppeita Kita

Jacques Lipchitz

Norman Mailer Giacomo Manzu Marcel Marceau W. Somerset Maugham Francois Mauriac Marsh.all

McLuhan

Joan Miro

Henry Moore

Winston Churchill

Vladimir Nabokov

Jacques Cousteau

Georgia O'Keeffe

Michael

E.

Debakey

Albert Einstein

Robert Frost

Alberto Giacometti

Martha Graham Ernest

Hemingway

Augustus John

Pope John Yasunari

XXIII

Kawabata

Helen Keller

John

F.

Kennedy

Nikita Khrushchev

Martin Luther King,

Jr.

Robert Oppenheimer

Pablo Picasso Jean-Paul Riopelle Albert Schweitzer

Hans Seiye Ravi

Shankar

George Bernard Shaw Jean Sibelius

Edward

Steichen

John Steinbeck Igor Stravinsky

Helen Taussig Tennessee Williams

483222 '\