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Bert Morgan
Best of Breed, Dog show photos from the 1930's & 40's
January 7- February 25, 2006

Wessel + O'Connor Fine Art is proud to present Bert Morgan's dog show photographs from over 75 years ago in their first ever gallery setting. This collection of b&w photos captures the nostalgic charm and glamour of the society dog shows of the 1930s and 1940s, giving us an insiders look into the pomp and splendor of a bygone way of life from an idealized American era of refined leisure. They capture the highly pampered canines and owners in their finest moments, at the glamorous dog shows where both were at their dapper best.

A friend of the Rockefellers, Kennedys, Hearsts and Harrimans, Bert Morgan became the photographer of choice for high society starting in the 1930's. By promising never to publish an unflattering picture, he gained unlimited access to this rarefied gilded-age world, which he followed seasonally from Palm Beach to Cape Cod, Saratoga, and the Hamptons. Nothing could equate with the luxurious rituals of recreation more than the irresistible Pedigreed pets preening and promenading here, all for the admiration of their owners—and the judges.

Bert Morgan was born in England in 1904, came to America at age seven and was raised in Brooklyn. He began his career at fifteen syndicating photographs for the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News. By 1930, he began taking his own photographs with a camera he bought for a quarter. For five decades he would chronicle High Society events and it's luminaries, as well as becoming the official track photographer of the New York Racing Association. His work was regularly published in magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Town & Country.

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"Jacqueline Bouvier & Tammy, East Hampton Fair" 1939 © Bert Morgan / Getty Images

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All images are available in two different size prints: 12 x 16" or 16 x 20." They are from limited editions of 75.

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