Names like Marlon Brando, Grace Kelly and Cary Grant never fail to conjure up wonderful images of glamorous Hollywood days gone by - the days when film studios exercised an extraordinary level of control over the image of the stars they represented.
A little piece of this classic Hollywood era is now coming to London. Nearly 70 vintage photographs spanning 40 years of Hollywood history will be displayed in the National Portrait Gallery and the new exhibition, which opens on July 7, will examine the importance of photography in creating the stars of Hollywood from 1920 to 1960.
The stars catapulted on to our screens during this time rarely seemed anything less than enchanting and inaccessible. They were imbued with mystique.
Because they were snapped by photographers employed by the studios to shoot and oversee the star portraits their glamorous image has remained enshrined in history right up until today.
Take an exclusive first look at 12 portraits from the exhibition below…
Glamour of the Gods: Hollywood Portraits, Photographs from the John Kobal Foundation will run at the National Portrait Gallery, London from 7 July – 23 October 2011. www.npg.org.uk/glamour