Like his contemporary Walker Evans, John Swope came to photography from a position of privilege. Unlike Evans, who preferred to find America’s self-invention in subtle details, Swope went straight to Hollywood, the bright, obvious generator of mythology. Initially hired by a producer as an assistant and occasional publicity photographer, Swope became interested in a layered exploration of Hollywood as a culture— in front of and behind the scenes. While doing his paying job, he produced his own photographs that became Camera Over Hollywood, first published in 1939 by Bennet Cerf of Random House.

Swope began his energetic and revealing view of Hollywood when he was twenty-eight and had completed his book by the time he was thirty. With luck, charm, and insider advantage, he had carte blanche to photograph Hollywood. He showed it, as a working town full of hope, struggle, and success in unequal proportions. He sees the men and women who make the movies as regular working folks, be they the stars or would-be actors, or extras and grips waiting for their unemployment checks— all very real people in the business of creating a very unreal alternative to the Great Depression.

WORKS
63

DIMENSIONS

16 x 20 (inches)
40,64 x 50,8 (cm)

SPACE REQUIREMENTS

240 linear feet (73.15 linear meters)

INQUIRIES

exhibitions@curatorial.org
626.577.0044

FEE

$3,500

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

John Swope was born in 1908 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, son of the chairman of General Electric. While at Harvard (1926-1930), he and his fellow students created the University Players Guild. These were extraordinarily promising young people whose talents propelled them to celebrated careers as actors, writers, producers, and directors on Broadway and Hollywood. Among Swope’s closets friends were Henry Fonda, James Stewart, and Josh Logan, who shared a house in Los Angeles. His interest in photography began when he brought a camera to a yacht race from Los Angeles to Hawaii in 1936.
Later in life he co-founded Southwest Airways, with Leland Hayward and John H. Connely were they developed the Thunderbird Fields, which trained thousands of military pilots during World War II.
He was married to actress Dorothy McGuire in 1943 and until his death on May 11, 1979.