Eugene Robert Richee (1896-1972) was an Hollywood photographer at Paramount (1921-1941) and Warner Brothers. He started by shooting silent movie stars like Gloria Swanson, Claudette Colbert and Carole Lombard. He is particulary famous for his portraits of movie stars such as Clara Bow, Sylvia Sidney and Marlene Dietrich. At MGM and Warner Brothers, he photographed namely Jean Arthur, Mae West, Gary Cooper, Irene Dunne and Veronica Lake. Some stars like Miriam Hopkins love so much his work they wanted only to work with him.
He produced sumptuous photos : the light he used magnified the facial characteristics. Richee wasn’t only a classic Hollywood photographer, he was also creative. He often used mirrors to create reflections and played with the shadows. As all the photographers in Hollywood at this time, Eugene Robert Richee retouched the photos so as to clear all the imperfections. The most famous photo is probably the portrait of Louise Brooks wearing a long string of pearls in 1928. It is an amazing photo : her black hair and black dress are confused with the black background ; only the face and the pearl necklace come off.
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