Homer, Louise. (1871-1947)
Large Strauss-Peyton Photograph, Signed "Happy Xmas"
Original doubleweight matte sepia photograph by the popular Ziegfeld photographer team of Strauss-Peyton, showing the great Golden Age contralto in profile, signed and inscribed "Wishing you a Happy Xmas - Sincerely and gratefully yours / Louise Homer." Trimmed to 8.5 x 10.75 inches, a few light marks and surface creases, overall very good.“In the 1910s, Benjamin Strauss specialized in formal portraits of Kansas City notables. After he added Homer Peyton as partner, the business expanded to theatrical photography. Peyton was the graphic artist, performing pictorialist manipulations of the negative to form aesthetic backgrounds, sculpt shadows, and supply tonal drama. Strauss-Peyton's large format prints are noteworthy for their richness of texture. Because of Kansas City's importance as a transportation hub, it was the juncture of three different theatrical circuits. Strauss-Peyton, like their rivals, Orval Hixon, James Hargis Connelly and Bert Studio, secured a national reputation as celebrity portraitists. Images regularly appeared in 1920s Movie and Theater magazines.” (David S. Shields, http://broadway.cas.sc.edu/index.php?action=showPhotographer&id=51) (11023)
Signed Photograph Opera