The inaugural exhibit of the Orval Hixon gallery, Shooting Stars: The Celebrity Photography of Orval Hixon, is now on display at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St. The exhibit features images of some of Hixon's most famous celebrity subjects, including Theda Bara, Al Jolson, and Kansas Citian Joan Crawford.
Hixon transformed the field of portrait photography in Kansas City and the surrounding region during a career that spanned over seven decades. Hixon's studios, the first in the Brady Building at 11th and Main Streets and the second just one block west in the Baltimore Hotel, welcomed thousands of patrons including some of the most famous celebrities of the 1910s and 1920s.
Hixon and other photographers helped to successfully mold images of theater and film celebrities and their public personas in an industry based largely on visual appeal. As an Orpheum vaudeville circuit photographer, Hixon shaped perceptions of both veteran actors in the last years of their careers and hopeful performers on the brink of stardom. His artistic style set him apart and made him one of the most sought after portraitists in the nation.
Shooting Stars is the first in a rotating series of exhibits that will appear in the permanent gallery. Each exhibit will include photographs that highlight a different theme in Hixon's work.
This exhibit will be on display through July 31, 2010. Admission to the gallery is free.
The Orval Hixon Gallery has been made possible through a donation by James R. Finley, Charles David Hixon, and Linda Hixon of over 150 digital photographic prints, produced from Hixon's original glass plate negatives, and by the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts—Commerce Bank, Trustee.
Ordering information for these images may be found at www.sundancephotogallery.com or by calling 816.386.4310.
more at the Kansas City Public Library
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