Abstract
Abstract Between 1946 and 1947, the photographer George Platt Lynes produced an intriguing portrait series of Thomas Mann while they were both living in California.1 Although numerous portraits were made of Mann by others, this remarkable group makes subtle iconographic references to important autobiographical themes in Mann's writings. The portraits, taken in a typical Southern California garden setting, impress the beholder as isolated frames from a film. By this, I wish to suggest that the series is narrative in quality and presents an animated portrait that illuminates the creative aims of the portrayed. The total impression of the series is one of self-absorbed informality, an achievement that contrasts markedly with conventional Mann portraits. The series belongs to the group of portraits of visual artists and writers produced by Lynes throughout his working life from about 1931 to his death in 1955.
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