# Russell Ball

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{{Short description|American photographer (1891–1942)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name                = Russell Ball
| image               = Russell Ball at work 1931.jpg
| caption             = Russell Ball at work in 1931.<br/>''[Picture Post](/source/Picture_Post)'' magazine
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1891|3|24|mf=y}}
| birth_place         = [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia), [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania), U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1942|6|12|1891|3|24|mf=y}}
| resting_place       = [West Laurel Hill Cemetery](/source/West_Laurel_Hill_Cemetery), [Bala Cynwyd](/source/Bala_Cynwyd), Pennsylvania, U.S.
| occupation          = Photographer
| spouse          = [Gladys Hall](/source/Gladys_Hall)
}}
'''Russell Earp Ball''' (November 24, 1891 – June 12, 1942) was an American photographer who made [film stills](/source/Film_still) for the [Hollywood (film industry)](/source/Hollywood_(film_industry)) and [photographic portraits](/source/Portrait_photography) of many of the film stars of the 1920s and 1930s.

==Early life==
Ball was born in Philadelphia on March 24, 1891. He began to learn photography at the age of 12. In 1910, after the death of his father, he worked as a salesman for the Gas Light Manufacturing Company to support his mother.<ref name=Harnisch>{{cite web |last1=Harnisch |first1=Larry |title=Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Russell Ball - An Eye for Glamour |url=https://ladailymirror.com/2016/07/18/mary-mallory-hollywood-heights-russell-ball-an-eye-for-glamour/ |website=ladailymirror.com |publisher=The Daily Mirror |access-date=17 June 2025}}</ref> He moved to New York and on February 1, 1912, he married the film journalist [Gladys Hall](/source/Gladys_Hall),<ref>{{Cite book|last=Slide|first=Anthony|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5hDG6auRCJ4C|title=Inside the Hollywood Fan Magazine: A History of Star Makers, Fabricators, and Gossip Mongers|page=37|date=February 26, 2010|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|isbn=978-1-60473-414-0|language=en}}</ref> with whom he had two children, while working as a newspaper photographer.<ref name=Harnisch/>

==Career==
He established his reputation as a photographer in the New York working in [Broadway theatre](/source/Broadway_theatre) in 1923. He specialized in making stills and portraits for the [Shubert Organization](/source/Shubert_Organization).{{sfn|Shields|2013|p=339}} He worked as an independent [celebrity photographer](/source/Celebrity_photography) and shot for [Photoplay](/source/Photoplay) magazine and [Motion Picture Magazine](/source/Motion_Picture_Magazine).<ref name=Harnisch/>

His photography style caught the interest of [Rudolph Valentino](/source/Rudolph_Valentino) and Ball was hired to shoot portraits of Valentino and his wife, [Natacha Rambova](/source/Natacha_Rambova), as well as film stills for Valentino's movie ''[Monsieur Beaucaire](/source/Monsieur_Beaucaire_(1924_film))''. He also photographed [Gloria Swanson](/source/Gloria_Swanson) for her film ''[Zara](/source/Zaza_(1923_film))''.<ref name=Harnisch/>

[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer](/source/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) (MGM) was impressed with his work and hired him as an independent consultant on the East Coast. He photographed [Greta Garbo](/source/Greta_Garbo) in New York when she first arrived from Sweden. Ball moved to [Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles](/source/Benedict_Canyon%2C_Los_Angeles) with his family in the late 1920s and continued to work as an independent photographer for magazines and stars such as [Warner Baxter](/source/Warner_Baxter) and [Lila Lee](/source/Lila_Lee). He shot the film stills and portraits for Gloria Swanson's film ''[What a Widow!](/source/What_a_Widow!)''.<ref name=Harnisch/> He also worked for [Paramount](/source/Paramount_Pictures), Caddo, and MGM on the West Coast.{{sfn|Shields|2013|p=336}}

He wrote an article in [Picture Play magazine](/source/Picture_Play_(magazine)) about making celebrity portraits. He gave one word descriptions for some of the famous subjects of his photography. He described [Lilyan Tashman](/source/Lilyan_Tashman) as "crystal"; [Laura La Plante](/source/Laura_La_Plante) as "dovelike"; [Estelle Taylor](/source/Estelle_Taylor) as "exotic"; and [Evelyn Brent](/source/Evelyn_Brent) as "mysterious".<ref name=Harnisch/>

He opened his own studio at 9528 Brighton Way, [Beverly Hills](/source/Beverly_Hills) to work for private patrons and celebrities at the end of the 1920s.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hall |first=Barbara |editor1=Jane Gaines |title=Gladys Hall  |editor2=Radha Vatsal |editor3=Monica Dall'Asta  |journal=Women Film Pioneers Project |publisher=Columbia University Libraries |date=2016 |url=https://wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu/pioneer/gladys-hall/ |doi=10.7916/d8-1z95-5v19}} <!--with citations--></ref> His famous clientele included [John Boles](/source/John_Boles_(actor)),<ref name=Harnisch/> [Louise Brooks](/source/Louise_Brooks), [Ruth Chatterton](/source/Ruth_Chatterton),<ref name=vintage/> [Carol Dempster](/source/Carol_Dempster), [Mary Eaton](/source/Mary_Eaton), [Madge Evans](/source/Madge_Evans),<ref name=Getty/>  [Ann Harding](/source/Ann_Harding),<ref name=vintage>{{cite web |title=Classic Beauties Taken by Russell Ball in the Early 20th Century |url=https://www.vintag.es/2021/05/russell-ball.html |website=www.vintag.es |publisher=Vintage Everyday |access-date=18 June 2025}}</ref> [Jean Harlow](/source/Jean_Harlow),<ref name=vintage/> [Phyllis Haver](/source/Phyllis_Haver), [Doris Kenyon](/source/Doris_Kenyon),<ref name=Harnisch/> [Jeanette MacDonald](/source/Jeanette_MacDonald),<ref name=vintage/> [Florine McKinney](/source/Florine_McKinney),<ref name=Getty>{{cite web |title=Russell Ball |url=https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/person/104NVN |website=www.getty.edu |publisher=Getty |access-date=18 June 2025}}</ref> [Mary Pickford](/source/Mary_Pickford),<ref>{{cite web |title=A group of original photos and negatives of Mary Pickford taken by Russell Ball |url=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24838/lot/390/?category=list |publisher=Bonhams |accessdate=November 28, 2019}}</ref> [Esther Ralston](/source/Esther_Ralston),<ref name=vintage/> and [Norma Talmadge](/source/Norma_Talmadge).<ref>{{cite web |title=Norma Talmadge 8 Russell Ball Photographs From "The Woman Disputed" 1928, Outstanding Vintage |url=https://www.universityarchives.com/auction-lot/norma-talmadge-8-russell-ball-photographs-from-t_CFC4889982 |website=www.universityarchives.com |publisher=University Companies, Inc. |access-date=18 June 2025}}</ref><ref name="Art1987">{{cite book |author=[Elvehjem Museum of Art](/source/Elvehjem_Museum_of_Art) |title=Hollywood Glamour, 1924-1956: Selected Portraits from the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yxal5DpXqFcC&pg=PR10 |year=1987 |publisher=[Chazen Museum of Art](/source/Chazen_Museum_of_Art) |isbn=978-0-932900-15-9 |page=10}}</ref><ref name="Indiana University Press 2017 p=105">{{cite journal |last=Keating |first=Patrick | title=Artifice and Atmosphere: The Visual Culture of Hollywood Glamour Photography, 1930–1935 | journal=Film History | publisher=Indiana University Press | volume=29 | issue=3 | year=2017 |pages=105–135 | issn=0892-2160 | doi=10.2979/filmhistory.29.3.05 | jstor=10.2979/filmhistory.29.3.05 |s2cid=191641256 }}</ref>

==Death and legacy==
He died on June 12, 1942, of a heart attack<ref name=Harnisch/> and was interred at [West Laurel Hill Cemetery](/source/West_Laurel_Hill_Cemetery) in [Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania](/source/Bala_Cynwyd%2C_Pennsylvania).<ref>{{cite web |title=Russell Earp Ball |url=https://remembermyjourney.com/memorials/russell-earp-ball?id=OkoWgxZk |website=remembermyjourney.com |publisher=webCemeteries |access-date=17 June 2025}}</ref>

His work was exhibited at the [Museum of Modern Art](/source/Museum_of_Modern_Art) from December 5, 1980, to February 28, 1981, as part of the exhibition ''Hollywood Portrait Photographers 1921-1941''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Russel Ball American, 1891-1942 |url=https://www.moma.org/artists/64663-russell-ball |website=www.moma.org |publisher=The Museum of Modern Art |access-date=17 June 2025}}</ref>

==Images==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="175">
File:Louise_Brooks_Ball.jpg|[Louise Brooks](/source/Louise_Brooks), 1920s
File:Carol Dempster Ball.jpg|[Carol Dempster](/source/Carol_Dempster), 1920s
File:Esther Ralston Sadie McKee.jpg|[Esther Ralston](/source/Esther_Ralston) in ''[Sadie McKee](/source/Sadie_McKee)'', 1934
File:Garbo Ball 1925.jpg|[Greta Garbo](/source/Greta_Garbo), 1925
File:Rose_Marie_film_1936.jpg|[Nelson Eddy](/source/Nelson_Eddy) and [Jeanette MacDonald](/source/Jeanette_MacDonald) in ''[Rose Marie](/source/Rose_Marie_(1936_film))'', 1936
File:Phyllis Haver by Russell Ball 1928.jpg|[Phyllis Haver](/source/Phyllis_Haver), 1928
File:Doris Kenyon by Russell Ball 1928.jpg|[Doris Kenyon](/source/Doris_Kenyon), 1928
File:Natacha Rambova (Mrs Valentino) by Russell Ball 1924.jpg|[Natacha Rambova](/source/Natacha_Rambova) (Mrs Valentino), 1924
File:Gloria Swanson by Russell Ball 1923.jpg|[Gloria Swanson](/source/Gloria_Swanson), 1923
File:Estelle Taylor by Russell Ball 1930.jpg|[Estelle Taylor](/source/Estelle_Taylor), 1930
File:Rudolph Valentino as a native American chief by Russell Ball 1923.jpg|[Rudolph Valentino](/source/Rudolph_Valentino) as a native American chief, 1923
</gallery>

==References==
'''Citations'''
{{reflist}}

'''Sources'''
* {{cite book
  | last = Shields
  | first = David
  | year = 2013
  | title = Still: American Silent Motion Picture Photography
  | publisher = University of Chicago Press
  | isbn = 978-0-226-01343-5
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-oEbI_9aH2YC
  }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Kobal |first1=John |title=The Art of the Great Hollywood Portrait Photographer |date=1980 |publisher=[Knopf](/source/Alfred_A._Knopf) |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/artofgreathollyw0000koba/mode/2up}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Russell}}
Category:1891 births
Category:1942 deaths
Category:20th-century American photographers
Category:American photojournalists
Category:American portrait photographers
Category:Movie stills photographers
Category:Photographers from Los Angeles
Category:Photographers from Philadelphia

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Russell Ball](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Ball) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Ball?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.