A Gift for Alice Olive

Alice loves photography and her Joe. And while she's all Nikon, I don't suspect anyone will notice this is a Canon lens. $24 for the 24 -105mm. $30 for the 70 - 200mm. Order from Photojojo here.

Robe & Pajama Outtakes

Many years ago I was a police cadet directing traffic out of a city park after a July 4th fireworks demonstration. That night I dreamed I was sleeping in my bed on the side of the road by the park. Cars would come and I'd get out of bed, walk to the intersection in my pjs and direct traffic returning to bed only to be forced outta bed by another stream of cars.

This photo shoot was inspired by that dream. I wanted to include a small table with an vintage alarm clock but while the logistics proved daunting - Mark Rykken did not. It is no easy task to stand at 45th & Madison at 2PM dressed like you're going to bed. I owe Mark and Paul Stuart a huge thanks for their cooperation and their enthusiasm.

I am looking for a woman to model a smoking jacket. Long legs and assertiveness are required.

Giving Thanks In The Park

Tourists shun the park when it rains. All but the most hard core runners and cyclists too. No place else am I more thankful for living in this city than here. On a rainy Autumn afternoon.

The Cooper Union

Gary Cooper, photographed by Cecil Beaton, Hollywood, 1931


Gary, Malibu, 1937


Rocky Cooper, Los Angeles, 1933


Gary, Los Angeles, 1940


Rocky & Gary, Southampton, NY, 1934


Gary, Van Nuys, 1933


Gary, Santa Barbara, 1937


Rocky, Colorado Springs, 1942


Gary, Colorado Springs, 1942


Rocky & Gary, Van Nuys, 1934


Gary photographed by Robert Capa, Sun Valley, 1942


Robert Capa, Sun Valley 1942


Ingrid Bergman, Gary & Clark Gable, 1940


Gary, on set, year unknown


Gary & Ernest Hemingway, Sun Valley, 1942

Rocky & Gary, Beverly Hills, 1959


David Douglas Duncan photograph of Pablo & Jacqueline Picasso, Gary & Maria Cooper, Cannes, 1956


Gary, Athens, 1956


Rocky & one of many championship Sealyham Terriers bred by the Coopers.

I first saw proofs of 'Enduring Style' last Febuary during a visit to the publisher. The small B&W images didn't look like much -- until you got close. Close enough to see an intimacy family snaps share. Imperfect exposure. Worn edges. Tape residue. The simplicity of a pose for a spouse or a friend. A happy terrier chases a ball with the shadow of Gary Cooper in the corner. If you love to look at pictures...I mean really look at pictures -- for the stories in the details --you will love looking at this book.

Enduring Style is a return of G. Bruce Boyer during a time when 20 somethings are hoisted sockless up fashion media's flagpole. Finally... there's something to salute. The book is slip cased, monograph-ed and written by three experts. Ralph Lauren contributes the introduction and sums up with a feeling about 'Coop' that proves even Mr Lauren can't always get what he wants.

Maria Cooper Janis, Gary & Rocky's daughter, writes of the charmed, but in no way entitled life of America's premiere movie star who told her, "There ain't never a horse that couldn't be rode, there ain't never a rider that couldn't be throwed." Rather than 'celebrity' and 'star', her description of her father is 'average,' 'good mannered' with 'natural elegance.'

What the photo's leave out, G. Bruce Boyer fills in. The history, the career, the marriage. Like Cooper, Bruce keeps it simple with an eye for detail. Cooper's tailors, shoemakers, colors and jeans. Boyer underlines the contrast between Cooper's celebrity and, 'your average Joe' from Montana.

No doubt Cooper took great care in his appearance and had a passion for the cloth. A vanity that must come with the occupation. But his understanding of what he was doing is breathtaking. Even if he stayed a cowboy extra, his presence in a photograph would tell anyone a hundred years later that this man had something.

The lesson? Style is everywhere, but your inner compass must be followed. Stay true to yourself and with time as your judge, like Gary Cooper, your tie will never be too short, your trouser break never too long and your shoes will never have too many buckles. Simplicity was Cooper's mantra. In the roles he selected and in the way he lived his life. He wasn't a god. He just looked and lived like one.

Enduring Style is available for pre order on Amazon here. Limited advance copies are also available tonight at a book signing. Join G. Bruce Boyer and Maria Cooper Janis at Leffot, 10 Christopher Street, at 6:30 PM.

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr - A Life

Photos for The Trad by Alice Olive

It's an odd thing...digging through a dead man's belongings. Low estimates on Lobb, Huntsman and Lock had me salivating like a hyena until I was struck by a thunder bolt of guilt. A conscious revelation of picking over the wool, leather and felt of a man I only knew through books and film -- It suddenly seemed wrong.

Standing at Fairbank's desk, I looked down on the snap shots, post cards and newspaper cartoons he felt fit to place under glass. I picked up his Dunhill brief case, placed it on the desk and opened the leather flap looking for something...maybe loose change. I don't really know.

The Rolodex was magical. Not because of the famous names, but because of the local grocers, a car rental car company behind Kate Hepburn and the florist who delivered long stems roses in NYC for $50 with two hours notice. Still, it was refreshing to see Princess Grace's signature in a guest book -- Her letters fat, cursive and squat -- just like a 16 year old high school girl.

Then it hits you. A life represented by lots in a room-- together -- like a museum exhibit. Perhaps more so -- just not for very long. Soon it all disappears among the bidders -- never to be seen in one place again. That's the magic. Whether you bid or not, stop by to see a life, and make of it what you will. I discovered a man whose sartorial interests paled compared to his storied life. And that discovery didn't cost a thing.

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr Auction, September 13, 2020, Doyle New York, 175 East 87th, NYC (212) 427 2730 On line catalog here.