That’s a portrait of Bertrand Russell, taken by the relatively famous quebecois photographer and portrait specialist, Gabriel Desmarais (who usually went by just “Gaby“). The portrait was taken at Russell’s place in Wales (“Plas Penrhyn”) in 1961, which would probably mean Russell is 89 in the photo.
It is one of a series of photomontages Gaby prepared with portraits of great men, Nobel Prize winners, scientists, philosophers…and a handwritten text by them on their thoughts on Mankind’s Future. (Just to get the idea, you can also see Robert Oppenheimer and Linus Pauling).
I’ve recently arranged to purchase the copy of this print from Desmarais’ personal collection from his estate. It’s the latest piece of photographic “Russellania” in my collection, along with the giant poster, and the Karsh photograph. I’ve had it framed like so:
The text on the photo is very similar to the end of “The Road to Peace”, and I’ve typed it out here (although I admit I needed some help deciphering Russell’s handwriting–he was 89, and the medium is not a great one) for your edification.
There can be no victor in a war using the H-bomb. We can all live together or all die together. If those of us who realize this devote ourselves to the task, we can make the world realize it. Almost all prefer life to death, and if the issue is clearly presented to them, will choose the methods which are necessary for preserving life. This is a strenuous hope; for it demands the expenditure of an immense energy in persuading, with the realization that time is short, and the temptation to hysteria which comes from contemplating the possible abyss. But although the hope is arduous, it should be vivid. It should inspire the lives, first perhaps of comparatively few, but gradually of increasing numbers, until with a great shout of joy men come together to celebrate the end of organized killing and the inauguration of a happier era than any that has hitherto fallen to the lot of man.
—Bertrand Russell
I notice that Ken Blackwell also has a print of this in the Russell Archives over at Mac, along with at least one of the other Russell portraits Gaby did. Apparently he has some evidence that the first thing Russell said to Gaby when he arrived was “You’d better have a Scotch“–it would have been a pretty terrible drive to get there in the weather that day.
The Gaby estate has two other Russell portraits (from the same session) that I’d love to get my hands on, but at an asking price of $200 each I don’t see it happening soon. They look like this:
At this point I’m also interested in Gaby’s work generally. Some of the information I found about him on the web is pretty cool. Check these out:
“A portrait is a mirror that thinks, with Gaby the mirror is not satisfied to think and reflect: it speaks” –Jean Cocteau (1955)
“There is a rare quality in your work that we seldom find in still photography” –Cecil B De Mille (1957)
”You have reached a new high in camera technique” –George Sidney (1957)
“In the art of photography Gaby surely stands out among the world’s most sensitive practitioners” –Clifton Fadiman (1963)
I’m seriously tempted to order up a copy of the book collecting some of his portrait work, even though the text is in French. (I’m sure I could muddle through.) You can see several portrait examples at that link. Here are two others: Sammy Davis, Jr. and Oscar Peterson.
You can see some of the prints the estate is selling here.
