Greta Garbo
(1905 –90)

Greta GarboAnecdote...

David Niven speaks of a conversation with Greta Garbo one day in a rainstorm:

“I often wondered if something of [vertigo] had overcome Garbo at the pinnacle of her career, so seeing her before me, carefree and happy, munching away contentedly with the rain cascading off the table, I decided it might be a propitious moment to try and find out.

“ 'Why did you give up the movies?' I asked.

“She considered her answer so carefully that I wondered if she had decided to ignore my personal question. At last, almost to herself, she said, 'I had made enough faces.' ”

From Bring on the Empty Horses by David Niven.

View my favorite portrait of Garbo.
Greta Garbo by Edward Steichen
Portrait of Greta Garbo
by Edward Steichen

Steichen's 1928 photo of actress Greta Garbo is recognized as one of the definitive portraits of Garbo.



About the photographer
Born in 1879 in Luxembourg, Edward J. Steichen (1879–1973) came with his family to the United States in 1881 and started in photography at age 16, when the medium itself was still young. In 1900, a critic reviewing some of his portraits wrote admiringly that Steichen "is not satisfied showing us how a person looks, but how he thinks a person should look." During his long career, he was a gallery partner with the great photography promoter Alfred Stieglitz. He won an Academy Award in 1945 for his documentary film of the naval war in the Pacific, The Fighting Lady. He became the first director of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and created the famous "Family of Man" exhibition in 1955.

Though Steichen didn't invent fashion photography, an argument can be made that he created the template for the modern fashion photographer. Read more.

Photo Source: home.hiwaay.net/~oliver/otherports.htm

View the Clarence Sinclair Bull Gallery of Greta Garbo photos.


Quote-worthy...

Inever said, “I want to be alone.” I only said, “I want to be left alone.” There is all the difference. —Greta Garbo


Biographical Note...

Swedish film actress. Garbo was born Greta Louisa Gustafsson and was widely acclaimed for her beauty. Her films include "Flesh and the Devil" (1927), "Grand Hotel" (1932), and "Anna Karenina" (1935). She retired from the film world in 1941.


More Information...

VIEW a timeline of Greta Garbo's life and filmography. Then click the BACK button on your browser to return to Paw Prints. Or find other books about Greta Garbo for further reading.