BRUCE BELLAS - BRUCE OF L.A. at MARDI GRAS 1960 Set of 12 MEN IN COSTUME

Description: Rare BRUCE BELLAS photographs taken in 1960 at Mardi Gras Carnival in New Orleans. Set #1 includes 12 gelatin silver printed photographs stamped “Bruce” with catalogue numbers 2177-1 through 2177-12. Some of these photograph were featured In The Male Figure magazine volume 16 in 1960. This is a rare collection of men in lavish Mardi Gras costumes, some controversial for the period, casually posed on the streets of New Orleans photographed by the iconic American “Beefcake” photographer Bruce Bellas also know as Bruce of L.A. Size 4 x 5 inches with a standard 3/8 inch white boarder printed on a double weight lightly texture paper. There is a second set (Set #2) also listed on Ebay with 12 additional photographs from the 1960 New Orleans Mardi Gras. Bruce Harry Bellas (July 7, 1909 – July 1974) was an American photographer who pioneered “beefcake photography”. He was influential in his work with male physiques and nudes throughout the 1950s and 1960s an era of Hollywood bodybuilding and was well known under the pseudonym Bruce of Los Angeles. Bellas traveled around the country, finding farm boys, athletes, soldiers and sailors he encountered along the way to photograph. He often personally delivered his nude photographs to customers in the 1950s, since the controversial photographs were liable to be seized by postal inspectors if sent through the mail. In the 1960s Bellas succeeded in publishing his own magazine, The Male Figure, which allowed clients to order prints of their favorite models. His impact on physique photography is largely felt and recognized, and the works of Robert Mapplethrope and Bruce Weber are widely considered to be influenced by Bellas' pioneering style of “classic elegance, Hollywood glamour and camp wit”. In 1990, the Wessel O’Connor Gallery in New York and the Jan Kesner Gallery in Los Angeles both exhibited a wide array of Bellas' work, furthering modern recognition of his powerful and artistic impact on the art of male physique photography. Bellas died while on vacation in Canada in July 1974. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills. Bellas was in a long-term relationship with his favorite model Scotty Cunningham.

Price: 490 USD

Location: Glenford, New York

End Time: 2024-11-26T18:48:48.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD