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Greta Garbo in Queen Christina

Portrait Gallery

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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Object Details

Artist

A. M. Cay

Sitter

Greta Garbo, 18 Sep 1905 - 15 Apr 1990

Exhibition Label

Born Stockholm, Sweden
Greta Garbo rose to Hollywood stardom in the 1920s, when silent film audiences flocked to see her torrid love scenes with leading man John Gilbert. Her star status remained undiminished when she made her talking picture debut in 1930.
Garbo’s American films also found a popular market in Europe, as indicated by this richly hued German poster advertising her 1933 costume drama, Queen Christina. Fascinated by the tumultuous life of Sweden’s seventeenth-century monarch, Garbo was eager to portray her on the screen. To move the project forward with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, she enlisted her close friend, screenwriter Salka Viertel, to develop a script. When the film premiered, the New York Times called it “a skillful blend of history and fiction in which the Nordic star, looking as alluring as ever, gives a performance which merits nothing but the highest praise. She appears every inch a queen.”
Nacida en Estocolmo, Suecia
Greta Garbo alcanzó el estrellado en Hollywood en la década de 1920, cuando el público del cine
silente acudía en tropel a ver sus tórridas escenas de amor con el galán John Gilbert. En 1930 pasó al cine hablado, y logró conservar su fama intacta.
Las películas americanas de Garbo encontraron un mercado popular en Europa, como lo indica este colorido cartel alemán para su drama de época de 1933, La reina Cristina. Fascinada por la vida tumultuosa de la monarca sueca del siglo XVII, Garbo quiso interpretarla en la pantalla. A fin de promover el proyecto en la Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, reclutó a su buena amiga, la guionista Salka Viertel, para desarrollar el guion. Cuando se estrenó el filme, el New York Times comentó que era “una hábil mezcla de historia y ficción donde la estrella nórdica, tan seductora como siempre, nos ofrece una actuación merecedora de los más altos elogios. Es una reina de pies a cabeza”.

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Date

1934

Object number

NPG.94.56

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Print

Medium

Color lithographic poster

Dimensions

Image/Sheet: 139.8 x 92.4cm (55 1/16 x 36 3/8")
Sheet: 144.8 x 97.5cm (57 x 38 3/8")
Mount: 144.8 x 97.7cm (57 x 38 7/16")
Board: 149.9 x 102.9cm (59 x 40 1/2")
A to G depth: 1 1/2"

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

Exhibition

20th Century Americans: 1930-1960

On View

NPG, South Gallery 321

Data Source

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Symbols & Motifs\Heraldic motif\Coat of arms
Symbols & Motifs\Emblem\Escutcheon
Poster\Movie
Greta Garbo: Female
Greta Garbo: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Film\Movie actor
Greta Garbo: Performing arts awards\Academy Award
Portrait

Metadata Usage

Not determined

Link to Original Record

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm438c53c81-7c5b-4bb3-9520-a1ca9c8a9102

Record ID

npg_NPG.94.56

Discover More

Golden Age of Hollywood

The Movies poster

Let's Go to the Movies: Artifacts and Icons of the American Cinema

Silent Era

Early Movies

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