Object Details
Artist
Alfredo Valente, 1899 - 27 Jun 1973
Sitter
Myrna Loy, 2 Aug 1905 - 14 Dec 1993
Exhibition Label
Born Radersburg, Montana
In 1950 Myrna Loy played Lillian Moller Gilbreth in the movie version of the best-selling book Cheaper by the Dozen. She is best known, however, as the witty, sophisticated Nora Charles, who played opposite William Powell in The Thin Man film series of the 1930s and 1940s. In 1936, when Loy and Clark Gable were named the Queen and King of the Movies by a nationwide poll of moviegoers, Loy was considered to be the epitome of urbane glamour. She was one of Hollywood’s busiest and highest paid actresses until the outbreak of World War II, when she abandoned her career to work with the Red Cross. She returned to the screen in 1946 in The Best Years of Our Lives, which won the Best Picture Oscar.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Date
c. 1937
Object number
NPG.2006.76
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© The Valente Collection
Type
Photograph
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image/Sheet: 34.3 x 26.7 cm (13 1/2 x 10 1/2")
Mount: 48.8 x 38.1 cm (19 3/16 x 15")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location
Currently not on view
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Myrna Loy: Female
Myrna Loy: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Theater\Stage actor
Myrna Loy: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Film\Movie actor
Myrna Loy: Medicine and Health\American Red Cross\Volunteer
Myrna Loy: Performing arts awards\Academy Award
Portrait
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_NPG.2006.76