Yousuf Karsh Exhibition ~ Until April 26 at Art Institute of Chicago

Sir Winston Churchhill ~ 1941

If you haven't had an opportunity to see the Yousuf Karsh exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago yet, GET THERE!
It is FAB! I was blown out of the water with the power of his portraits. He photographed like Rembrandt painted. His use of light and composition are exquisite. He is famous for his portraits of famous celebrities and public figures. If you can't see the work in person, I just found this site, Curatorial.org with some of the images and a great essay by Chicago's David Travis, photography Curator.

Andy Warhol ~ 1979

From the Art Institute's press release....
"Yousuf Karsh’s lifelong ambition was to search for a form within a face, one that could become a symbol for a life that was meaningful and generally virtuous. “I speak with some experience when I say that I have rarely left the company of accomplished men and women without feeling that they had in them real sincerity, integrity—yes, and sometimes vanity of course—and always a sense of high purpose.” In his 60-year career, Karsh seldom wavered from this goal, even when fame and fortune came his way. Neither did he discard his trademark variations in lighting style that he perfected in the late 1940s while other fashions came and went. Unchanging, too, was his genius at capturing the revealing and ephemeral psychological expressions, those fleeting disclosures of character and purpose for which his famous sitters trusted him."

Frank Lloyd Wright ~ 1945

Bertrand Russell ~ 1949