Artifact: Card with Maurice Barrymore

Maurice Barrymore, John's Father

 

    
         Maurice was very important to John and his career. Maurice gave John his first major stage role when John was starting out at the age of 18. Maurice went on to become an amazing play writer and actor. until he became insane and was diagnosed with syphilis. Maurice also mentored John into becoming an amazing actor. Without Maurice, John might of tried to continue his study in visual art and not acting.

Artifact: Drawing by John Singer

Barrymore, drawn by John Singer, 1923

 

    

           This drawing of John was done excellently by John Singer and put into the files of Barrymore portraits. From what I can decipher of the note written at the bottom it says, "To my friend John Barrymore...?" Then the date of the drawing. The drawing has intense detail of his face and shadowing. I think its interesting that he had friends when he talks about how professional he is.

Artifact: Hamlet Painting

Barrymore as Hamlet 1922

 

 

              This painting of John as hamlet was made in 1922 as listed above. Once again right around the rise of his acting. His portrayal of Hamlet, in Shakespeare's Hamlet, earned him the title of the greatest tragedian of his time. He was acclaimed for his acting in Hamlet so much that it opened doors to new shows and film. He definitely set the bar high for actor playing Hamlet in the future.



Artifact: Photo from An American Citizen

 

Barrymore in the 1914 romantic comedy An American Citizen, his first feature film.

 

 

 

           This artifact is of john in his film An American Citizen. This is important to his career because it was his first confirmed film.  The film was made with Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company. The film was released in January 1914. one review said, "delighted movie audiences with an inimitable light touch that made a conventional romance 'joyous'." That's a pretty good review for his first film.

Artifact: Hollywood Star

Barrymore's star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame

 

 

         Here we have John's Hollywood star. He earned this star for film, on 8 February 1960 . North side of the 6600 block of Hollywood Boulevard is the location of his star. I think this is an important artifact because it shows that his art of acting was appreciated. Even though he was arrogant, he was still brilliant.





Artifact: The Great Profile Photograph

"The Great Profile", photographed in the 1920s

 

           The Great Profile was a famous photograph taken of John. He gets one, and probably his most famous nickname, from the photo. It is titled The Great Profile because it was an amazing profile (side of the face) shot of Barrymore. The serious in his face shows what a serious actor he was when it came to his tragedian career. The picture was also taken in the 1920s, right around the time he peaks as an actor. This was the first of many profile shots of Barrymore.

Artifact: Barrymore and Ethel painting

Barrymore's drawing of himself and Ethel in A Slice of Life, 1912

 

 

 



          This Portrait portrays John himself starring in the show, A Slice Of Life, that reshaped his career as an actor. Also in the painting  is John's sister Ethel who also stared in A Slice Of Life. This is an important piece of the Barrymore history because A Slice Of Life was the show that got him off his losing streak of flops shows. This show also proved to critics that his alcoholism wasn't controlling him, yet. The drawing is beautiful and really demonstrates that John was not only an actor but also had an eye for visual arts. The portrait also seems to depict him and his sister as fancy and high class.