Object Details
Artist
Gus Anton, active c. 1948
Printer
Henon
Sitter
Orson Welles, 6 May 1915 - 10 Oct 1985
Exhibition Label
Born Kenosha, Wisconsin
Actor, screenplay writer, and director Orson Welles was infamous for delivering a simulated radio newscast in The War of the Worlds (1938), briefly convincing many listeners of an impending alien invasion. His career thrived until the 1947 House Un-American Activities hearings, after which Hollywood blacklisted Welles for his ostensible ties to Communism. This poster features him in the 1948 film version of Macbeth, shortly before his twenty-year self-exile to Europe.
Welles acted in almost every film he produced, and he created some of the finest films of the twentieth century. Citizen Kane (1941) won nine Academy Awards in 1942, including best writing and best actor. For his work in the radio show Donovan’s Brain (1944), Welles later won a Grammy for best-spoken word album (1982). During the filming of Touch of Evil (1958), Welles revealed his competitive spirit when he told actor Dennis Weaver, “Never let anyone get in front of you.”
Nacido en Kenosha, Wisconsin
El actor, guionista y director Orson Welles adquirió fama por su emisión radial La guerra de los mundos (1938), en la que simuló la noticia de una invasión extraterrestre y logró convencer a numerosos oyentes. Su carrera prosperó, pero en 1947, tras las audiencias del Comité de Actividades Antiamericanas de la Cámara, cayó en la lista negra de Hollywood por sus aparentes vínculos comunistas. Este es un cartel de su filme Macbeth de 1948, poco antes de exiliarse en Europa por 20 años.
Welles actuó en casi todos los filmes que produjo, y varios se cuentan entre los mejores del siglo XX. El ciudadano Kane (1941) ganó nueve Oscars en 1942, incluidos “mejor guion” y “mejor actor”. En 1982 Welles ganó un Grammy a la mejor grabación narrativa por el show radial El cerebro de Donovan (1944). Su espíritu competitivo quedó demostrado en el rodaje de Sombras del mal (1958), cuando aconsejó al actor Dennis Weaver: “Nunca dejes que nadie se interponga delante de ti”.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Date
1948
Object number
NPG.90.96
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Print
Medium
Color lithographic poster
Dimensions
Image: 144.5 × 108.5 cm (56 7/8 × 42 11/16")
Sheet: 161 × 119.7 cm (63 3/8 × 47 1/8")
Mount: 167 × 125.8 cm (65 3/4 × 49 1/2")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location
Currently not on view
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Poster
Poster\Movie
Orson Welles: Male
Orson Welles: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Theater\Stage actor
Orson Welles: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Film\Film director
Orson Welles: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Film\Film producer
Orson Welles: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Film\Movie actor
Orson Welles: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Theater\Theater director
Orson Welles: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Performer\Radio performer
Orson Welles: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer\Screenwriter
Orson Welles: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Theater\Theater producer
Orson Welles: Performing arts awards\Academy Award
Portrait
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_NPG.90.96