John Malkovich-Diptych, Actor, 14 March 1996, Chicago Studio

Maker Skrebneski, Victor (American, b.1929)

Date1996, printed 1997

MediumGelatin silver print; Diptych

Dimensionsimage (each): 23 1/2 in x 30 1/2 in; paper (each): 23 3/4 in x 30 3/4 in

Credit LineGift of the artist

Object number1999:90.a-b

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On Chicago

About the ArtistChicago-based photographer Victor Skrebneski is known for his high-styled and glamorous fashion and advertising photography, for sensuous and sculptural nude studies, and for casually elegant portraits of friends and the famous. This photograph of Orson Welles is typical of the dynamic style Skrebneski employs for his black-and-white portraits. The black turtleneck became something of Skrebneski signature, and can be seen worn by a variety of his sitters, including David Bowie, Truman Capote, Bette Davis, and Andy Warhol.

Born in 1929, Victor Skrebneski attended The School of The Art Institute of Chicago (1943) and the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago (1947-49). Perhaps most famous for his commercial work for the cosmetic company Estee Lauder, Skrebneski also photographed for Town & Country and Fitness magazines, and for Chanel, Grosvenor Furs, Kohler, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, and Saks Fifth Avenue, among many other clients. His photographs are exhibited and collected widely; a fifty-year retrospective of his work was organized by the Museum of Contemporary Photography in 1999.