Original bust portrait publicity photograph of the noted Hollywood actress and singer, as originally issued for the 1954 Warner Brothers film A Star Is Born, signed and inscribed "To Paul -/ love / Judy Garland." Margins somewhat irregularly trimmed, else in fine condition. 7.4 x 9.8 inches; 18.6 x 25.4 cm. 

From the collection of Paul McMahon, a critic, photographer and artist who worked for more than 13 years touring with Marlene Dietrich as the icon’s stage manager, announcer, dresser, secretary and escort, and later spent 25 years as an arts and entertainment reviewer and photographer with Gay Community News, Esplanade, Tommy’s Connection, The Mirror, Bay Windows and other publications.

Just a few years after she was let go from MGM, the 1954 edition — a remake of the 1937 original — of A Star is Born was hailed as Garland's Hollywood comeback. It was initially popular among audiences, but nonetheless Warner Bros. was never able to make up the full amount of money it spent on the movie, which, ironically, tanked after they cut 30 minutes of George Cukor's film. Nonetheless, it was an artistic triumph for Garland, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. "The Man That Got Away," a song from the film, was indelibly associated with the star and became a standby of her live performances.  Richard Brody of The New Yorker writes that the subsequent awarding of the Academy Award to Grace Kelly in The Country Girl was "one of the all-time worst" Oscar blunders. "It closed a chapter on Garland’s movie stardom," he writes. "Only when the film was revived, three decades later, was it finally recognized as the heroic endeavor it was." 

"Reviews were laudatory toward Garland, and the film as a whole won virtually unanimous praise. Those who saw the original, uncut film were mesmerized. [...] Garland had accomplished a miraculous feat. She rose like a phoenix from the ashes of her failed movie career of just four years earlier and produced a masterpiece. However, like the story, A Star is Born the film was to end up as the Hollywood story without a happy ending. [...] Sadly, and almost incomprehensibly, given the positive critical and public reaction to the original cut of the film, A Star is Born effectively ended Garland's career as a major movie star." (Lorna Luft & Jeffrey Vance, "A Star Is Born: Judy Garland and the Film that Got Away")