Moving Pictures: Karl Struss and the Rise of Hollywood

A black-and-white photograph of an elaborately dressed woman lying on the ground with a snarling lion lying over her back.
May 12–August 25, 2024
Second floor

This multimedia examination of photographer and cinematographer Karl Struss celebrates his storied career and influence on American filmmaking during Hollywood’s Golden Age. Featuring archival materials, films, and over 100 photographs from the Carter’s extensive Struss Artist Archive, Moving Pictures: Karl Struss and the Rise of Hollywood highlights Struss’s innovations in image-making and unique contributions to the film industry in the early 20th century. Beginning when he left a successful career as a photographer in New York to start fresh in Los Angeles, Moving Pictures shines light on the innovative artistic approaches and techniques Struss brought to the world of moving pictures. Through behind-the-scenes footage, glamorous film stills and publicity images, and even Struss’s Oscar awarded for cinematography, the exhibition tells the story of how a fine-art photographer became one of the most influential cinematographers in Hollywood.


Explore Moving Pictures from the comfort of your home with our virtual exhibition experience!


 

Exhibition Overview with Carter Exhibition Hosts

Saturdays and Sundays starting May 25, 1–2:30 p.m.

Stop by Moving Pictures: Karl Struss and the Rise of Hollywood to chat with a Carter Exhibition Host. These volunteers can share an introduction to the exhibition, offer artwork insight, answer questions, and help you navigate your way through the work of Karl Struss. A friendly face will be in the exhibition from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

In the Press

Header Image Credit

Image: Karl Struss (1886-1981), Gloria Swanson in the Lion's Den - Fantasy Sequence from "Male and Female," 1919, gelatin silver print, Karl Struss Collection, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, P1983.23.171

Moving Pictures: Karl Struss and the Rise of Hollywood is organized by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. The exhibition is supported in part by the Leo Potishman Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation Temporary Exhibitions Endowment.