“Yousuf Karsh: American Portraits, from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, is on view at The Rockwell Museum. The collection features the work of the celebrated photographer throughout a storied career that spanned more than six decades. Karsh believed that ‘the heart and the mind are the true lens of the camera,’ and he developed a genuine rapport with his subjects to fashion evocative and revealing portraits.

Displaying portraits of Americans who have distinguished themselves in fields as diverse as business, medicine, entertainment, politics and the arts, the exhibition includes portraits of Georgia O’Keeffe, Jonas Salk, Marian Anderson, Elizabeth Arden, I.M. Pei, Helen Keller, Andy Warhol, Muhammad Ali, and first ladies Eleanor Roosevelt and Jacqueline Kennedy.” — The Rockwell Museum

“In the age of fast-photography, Yousef Karsh’s iconic images of some of the 20th centuries most notable personalities are a lesson on how the power of relationships, a quiet study of a subject and the use of unpretentious aesthetic can yield something of lasting power and engagement,” said Rockwell Museum Executive Director Brian Whisenhunt. “Hosting this exhibition from the National Portrait Gallery is an exciting opportunity for our community and guests to explore the exemplary work Karsh, who was both an incredibly influential photographer and a master chronicler of celebrity.”

Humphrey Bogart by Yousuf Karsh. Gelatin silver print, 1946. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh © Estate of Yousuf Karsh

Joan Crawford by Yousuf Karsh. Gelatin silver print, 1948. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh © Estate of Yousuf Karsh

Albert Einstein by Yousuf Karsh. Gelatin silver print, 1948. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh © Estate of Yousuf Karsh

Georgia O’Keeffe by Yousuf Karsh. Gelatin silver print, 1956. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh © Estate of Yousuf Karsh

Eleanor Roosevelt by Yousuf Karsh. Gelatin silver print, 1944. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh © Estate of Yousuf Karsh

Grace Kelly by Yousuf Karsh. Gelatin silver print, 1956. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh © Estate of Yousuf Karsh

Martin Luther King, Jr. by Yousuf Karsh. Gelatin silver print, 1962. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh © 1962 Estate of Yousuf Karsh

Muhammad Ali by Yousuf Karsh. Gelatin silver print, 1970. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh © Estate of Yousuf Karsh

Andy Warhol by Yousuf Karsh. Gelatin silver print, 1979. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh © Estate of Yousuf Karsh

Yousuf Karsh: American Portraits was organized by Ann M. Shumard, Senior Curator of Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery. The majority of the photographs in this traveling exhibition are drawn from a gift of more than 100 works that the National Portrait Gallery received from Karsh’s wife, Estrellita Karsh.

Images courtesy National Portrait Gallery / The Rockwell Museum.