Free rights of use in the context of reporting on the exhibition "Audrey Hepburn – Photographs by Bob Willoughby” and providing that copyright

"Bob Willoughby, 2004” is indicated

Ordering photographs
Tel: +43/1/811 13
fax: +43/1/811 13-334

Brigitte Wachtl: DW 225
E-Mail: wachtl@schoenbrunn.at

Josefa Haselböck: DW 335
E-Mail: haselboeck@schoenbrunn.at

Audrey Hepburn –
the actress and private individual

The American photographer Bob Willoughby had the unique privilege of accompanying Audrey Hepburn with his camera from 1953 to 1966. In the current exhibition he not only grants us insights into the shooting of some of her most successful movies but also gives us a unique view of her private life, which she rarely exposed to the public eye. Willoughby represents the life of this actress, mother, wife and animal lover in more than a hundred photographs, most of which have never been published before. The fascination of his photographs lies in their documentary impact. We encounter the private Audrey Hepburn, experience her in her relationship with her husband, Mel Ferrer, witness her happiness as a mother, and see her with Famous, her Yorkshire terrier, and the fawn called Ip that was allowed to accompany her to the supermarket.

Bob Willoughby also portrays her as an actress whose performance in front of the camera was hallmarked by unerring poise, grace and naturalness. He shows us a young, un-affected woman, full of the joys of life, but whose smile always carried a hint of melancholy – a quality which sets her apart from the other great Hollywood divas of the time and makes her unforgettable.

Audrey Hepburn, née Edda Kathleen van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston, was a Hollywood icon in her own lifetime and still represents the epitome of style and elegance. Nevertheless, this petite Belgian woman did not fit the stereotypical female image of her time. She represented the most interesting answer to the classic Hollywood diva. With her elfin appearance, her huge, doe-like eyes and her slim-fitting clothes, she was the antithesis of Marilyn Monroe, and put her stamp on a new type of woman in the cinema of the 1950s and 1960s. With her androgynous body, her charm, radiant smile and good taste she came to personify a new ideal of femininity: individualist, independent and intelligent.

Bob Willoughby – the photographer

Born in Los Angeles in 1929, Bob Willoughby is still one of the major photographers and recorders of the classic Hollywood. He studied film at USC Cinema Department and design at the Kann Institute of Art, learning his craft from W. Seawell, P. Hesse and G. Embree, and from the late 1940s worked as photographer for film studios and magazines. Today Bob Willoughby lives and works in the South of France. His photographs are represented in numerous American and European museums and galleries.

Address/Information
Hofmobiliendepot. Möbel Museum Wien,
Andreasgasse 7, A-1070 Wien
Tel.: (++43 1) 524 33 57-0,
Fax: (++43 1) 524 33 57-666
email: info@hofmobiliendepot.at
www.hofmobiliendepot.at

Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm

Admission fee: EUR 6,90 / EUR 4,50

Catalogue (in German): EUR 30,80