The Heiress

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The Heiress

Artist Max Yavno (American, 1911-1985)

Date1949 negative, 1976 print

Dimensions10 1/2 x 13 1/2 in. (26.5 x 34 cm)

MediumGelatin-silver print

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LinePurchased with funds given by an anonymous donor

Object number

1978.60

Not on View

Label TextMax Yavno loved to photograph the city of Los Angeles. His images captured life on the streets and on the beaches, unique vernacular architecture, and the glory of Hollywood. This dramatic image of a movie theater was taken during the Hollywood premier of The Heiress, a 1949 Academy Award nominated film starring Olivia de Havilland and Montgomery Clift. Yavno had a reputation as an obsessive perfectionist, spending hours producing one print in the darkroom. He expressed insecurity about his personal work after hearing that Edward Weston, one of the preeminent photographers of the day, was struggling to make a living. “If Weston could not make a go of it with his world reputation, what the hell chance did I have?” Yavno’s lack of self-confidence was intensified by his lack of formal training. He was hired as a neophyte photographer to work for the Works Progress Administration in New York City in the late 1930s. His job was to photograph street scenes that might be of use in the design of theater sets as part of the Federal Theater Project. He relocated to California, where he served as a photography instructor in the military during the Second World War, and was later hired to make images of San Francisco and Los Angeles for separate publications.Exhibition HistoryTMA, Recent Acquisitions, Prints, Photographs and Drawings, April 1979. Toledo Museum of Art, Refraction/Reflection, April 20-September 2, 2012. Mar. - Apr.,19792f

TMA, The City, November 6, 2015-February 14, 2016.