Ruth Harriet Louise

Ruth Harriet Louise
Ruth Harriet Louise (self-portrait)
Born	Ruth Goldstein (1903-01-13)January 13, 1903 New York City, U.S.
Died	October 12, 1940(1940-10-12)(aged 37) Los Angeles, California,U.S.
Resting place	Home of Peace Cemetery
Nationality	American
Known for	Photography
Spouse	Leigh Jason ​ (m.1930)​
Children	1
Relatives	Mark Sandrich(brother) Jay Sandrich(nephew) Carmel Myers(cousin)

Ruth Harriet Louise(bornRuth Goldstein;January 13, 1903 – October 12, 1940) was an American photographer. She was the first woman photographer active in Hollywood, and she ranMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer's portrait studio from 1925 to 1930.

Early life and career

Ruth Harriet Louise was born Ruth Goldstein inNew York Cityand raised inNew Brunswick, New Jersey.She was the daughter of Klara Jacobson Sandrich Goldstein, who was born inRajec,Hungary(present-daySlovakia) and Jacob Goldstein, who was arabbioriginally from England.Her brother was directorMark Sandrich,and she was a cousin of silent film actressCarmel Myers.

Louise began working as a portrait photographer in 1922, working out of a music store down the block from theNew Brunswicktemple at which her father was a rabbi.Most of her photographs from this period are of family members and members of her father's temple congregation.

In 1925, she moved toLos Angelesand set up a small photo studio onHollywood and Vine.Louise's first published Hollywood photo was ofVilma Bankyin costume forDark Angel,and appeared inPhotoplaymagazine in September 1925.

When Louise was hired by MGM as chief portrait photographer, she was twenty-two years old, and the only woman working as a portrait photographer for theHollywoodstudios.In a career that lasted only five years, Louise photographed all the stars, contract players, and many of the hopefuls who passed through the studio's front gates, includingGreta Garbo(Louise was one of only seven photographers permitted to make portraits of her),Lon Chaney,John Gilbert,Joan Crawford,Marion Davies,Anna May Wong,Nina Mae McKinney,andNorma Shearer.It is estimated she took more than 100,000 photos during her tenure at MGM. Today she is considered an equal withGeorge Hurrelland other renowned glamour photographers of the era.

In addition to paying close attention to costume and setting for studio photographs, Louise also incorporated aspects of modernist movements such asCubism,futurism,andGerman expressionisminto her studio portraits.

Although during this time photographers would not get full recognition of their work, Ruth would stamp the back of each photograph that was printed with her full name. A female photographer in a highly dominated male industry, she made sure that her work was acknowledged.

Personal life and death

Louise married writer and directorLeigh Jasonin 1927 at Temple B'nai B'rith, withWilliam Wyleras Jason's best man.Although in 1930 her contract with MGM was not renewed and the position of chief portrait photographer went toGeorge Hurrell,Louise continued working through 1932, and her last recorded photo session was with actressAnna Sten.

In 1932, she gave birth to a son, Leigh Jason Jr., who died in 1938 ofleukemiawhen he was six years old. In 1938, her occupation was listed as "housewife" and she was registered as aDemocrat.She died, along with her second son, in 1940 of complications from childbirth,and she was buried with her sons atHome of Peace Cemetery.

Further reading

• Dance, R.; Robertson, B.:Ruth Harriet Louise and Hollywood Glamour Photography,Univ. of California Press 2002;ISBN0-520-23347-6.
• Kobal, John.Hollywood Glamor Portraits: 145 Photos of Stars, 1926-1949.Courier Corporation, 1976.ISBN9780486233529.
• Vieira, Mark A.George Hurrell's Hollywood: Glamour Portraits 1925-1992.Running Press, 2013.ISBN9780762450398.

External links

• The Ruth Harriet Louise Collection
• Ruth Harriet Louise on Flickr.
• Greta Garbo and Louise: When they met...Archived2007-07-10 at theWayback Machine
• Greta Garbo photographsby Ruth Harriet Louise.
• Ruth Harriet LouiseatFind a Grave