Three Horses
“The difference between the immaterial horses who have galloped through my reading and the material horses that surprise me on walks in the countryside never stops surprising me.”
Estella Blain: The Delicate Grace of French Cinema
Estella Blain (1930–2011) was a delicate and graceful French actress who enjoyed a successful career in cinema during the 1950s and ’60s.
With her soft features, luminous eyes, and gentle on-screen presence, Blain often portrayed sensitive, romantic, or melancholic characters. She appeared in several notable European films, including The Gambler (1958), The Cossacks (1960), and The Black Tulip (1964).
Though she never reached the level of international superstardom, Blain was admired for her quiet elegance and understated acting style, which made her a distinctive figure in postwar French and Italian cinema.
These elegant vintage photos capture the soft, luminous beauty and gentle charm of Estella Blain, a refined French actress whose understated elegance left a lasting impression on 1950s and 1960s European cinema.
Brian Wilson Eats Funny Stuff, 1968
In 1968, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys did a playful, surreal photo session known as “Brian Wilson Eats Funny Stuff.” The session was captured by noted Hollywood and music photographer Earl Leaf (now archived via the Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images). The shoot took place at a Los Angeles restaurant.
By 1968, Brian Wilson was retreating from regular touring and moving deeper into his famously eccentric, creative, and reclusive period post-Smile. Rather than a standard, clean-cut pop star portrait, Leaf captured Wilson playing up a bizarre, comedic bit for the camera. True to the series’ literal title, the photographs document Brian playfully chomping down on entirely inedible objects and messing around with the table setting.
The images show him biting into a vinyl record (reportedly an acetate of a Beach Boys track in one account, a shoe, a pepper grinder, other people’s food, and sharing bites with his dog. It’s a lighthearted, whimsical glimpse into his sense of humor during a turbulent period.
35 Vintage Studio Portraits Featuring Late 1960s Women’s Hairstyles
The late 1960s marked a vibrant and transformative period in women’s hairstyling, as fashion moved away from the structured, voluminous looks of the early decade toward freer, more natural, and individualistic expressions. These studio portraits beautifully capture the diversity of hairstyles during this transitional era: from sleek, straight “hippie hair” and feathered layers to soft curls, long flowing locks, and the last remnants of the glamorous bouffant.
Reflecting the influence of the counterculture, youth rebellion, and changing ideals of femininity, these images showcase how hair became a powerful form of self-expression. Shot in classic studio settings, they offer a stylish and nostalgic glimpse into the evolving beauty standards of the late 1960s.
Gena Rowlands Photographed by Leo Fuchs Posing for Photographic Reinterpretations of Various Paintings, 1964
The 1964 “Master Painters” photo session featuring Gena Rowlands and photographer Leo Fuchs was a highly inventive and experimental collaboration designed to push the boundaries of traditional Hollywood portraiture.
Decades before digital manipulation, Fuchs captured these surreal effects purely in-camera. To achieve the fragmented, cubist look for the Picasso reinterpretation, he carefully positioned multiple physical mirrors around Rowlands to split and scatter her reflection directly into his lens.
The session took place during a major turning point for Fuchs. In 1964, with the encouragement of his close friend Cary Grant, he decided to step away from full-time celebrity photography to transition into a 20-year career as a motion picture producer. This creative shoot stood as one of his final artistic statements behind the camera.
Following the session, the 5×7″ color slides from this series, along with the rest of Fuchs’ extensive Hollywood archives, were locked away in storage. They remained completely unseen by the public for over 30 years before finally being uncovered and preserved by his estate.
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| Gena Rowlands poses for a photographic re-interpretation of Da Vinci La Gioconda. |
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| Gena Rowlands poses for a portrait painted as in a Picasso painting. |
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| Gena Rowlands poses for a portrait dressed as in a Rembrandt painting. |
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| Gena Rowlands poses for a photographic re-interpretation of Thomas Gainsborough portraits. |
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| Gena Rowlands poses for a portrait, dressed as if in a Goya painting. |
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| Gena Rowlands poses for a portrait, reading a book, dressed as if in a Renoir painting. |
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| Gena Rowlands poses for a photographic re-interpretation of Maria Portinari portrait by painter Hans Memling. |