Gods and Monsters

"The problem with beauty is that it's like being born rich and getting poorer."
Joan Collins



The eternally glamorous Joan Collins is featured as "Photograph of the Month" this July at The National Portrait Gallery with this beautiful portrait by John Swannell.

The display of this portrait coincides with the opening of the exhibition Glamour of the Gods: Hollywood Portraits today. Two portraits of Joan Collins are included in the exhibition.

From the National Portrait Gallery website:

Glamour of the Gods is a celebration of Hollywood portraiture from the industry's 'Golden Age', the period 1920 to 1960. From Greta Garbo and Clark Gable to Audrey Hepburn, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe, it is these portraits that transformed actors and actresses into international style icons. In many cases these are the career-defining images of Hollywood's greatest names and help to illustrate their enduring appeal.

Featuring over 70 photographs, most of which are exquisite vintage prints displayed for the first time, the exhibition is drawn from the extraordinary archive of the John Kobal Foundation and demonstrate photography's decisive role in creating and marketing the stars central to the Hollywood mystique.

Glamour of the Gods is on from 7 July to 23 October 2011.