A LITTLE HISTORY OF FAME

A London exhibition spanning the magazine's life is now on show at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in Canberra.Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913 - 2008 brings together rare vintage prints and contemporary classics that have graced the magazine's covers. Publisher Conde Nast launched Vanity Fair in 1913 at the dawn of the jazz age. It was a cultural catalyst featuring images of Louis Armstrong, Fred Astaire and scientist Albert Einstein.But publication was suspended in 1936 during the Great Depression and it was not re-launched until 1983. It again set out to capture icons, including Princess Diana, singer Madonna and presidents of the United States.NPG director Andrew Sayers says it is a photographic history of celebrity portraiture."It was a creator of style for our contemporary age," he said.

ABC
June 4 2009