Portrait of June Elvidge

Portrait fo June Elvidge
Inventory
Collection Number: 
17612
Building: 
Current Location: 
Storage Room 303
Floor: 
Lower Level/Vault
Object Description
Artist: 
Artist Dates: 
1884-1982
Artist Nationality: 
American
Object Type: 
Details: 
This is a sepia-toned photograph of actress June Elvidge.
Framed: 
Yes
 - Glass
Length: 
25 inches
Width: 
1 inch
Height: 
31 inches
Description: 

June Elvidge was a silent film actress with a relatively brief but highly productive career. Elvidge established her character in "The Lure of Women" (1915) as a seductress and was then on primarily cast in roles as vamps or vixens. She starred in over 70 silent films before the sound era, after which her film career declined and resurfaced in a series of vaudeville theater performances before she retired from show business altogether in 1925. In this photograph, Elvidge is presumably nude from the waist up with her torso turned away from the camera. The vantage point is lower than usual, eliciting a downward gaze from Elvidge that emphasizes the sensuality already communicated through her lowered eyelids and pursed lips. Hixon interrupts her gaze with enhanced eyelashes, likely applied in the development process of the photograph, in effect creating a screen across her eye. The curls of her hair fall down her back and grow out of focus into a smoky veil across her upper back also attributed to Hixon's photo manipulations.

Reproduce the Work in Library publications/publicity, including film or videotape: 
Yes
Make slides or videotapes for educational use: 
Yes
Permit the general public to photograph the work : 
Yes