"Grace - An Intimate Portrait" by Howell Conant

tbhrc · Aug 21, 2006

'An intimate portrait of Princess Grace by her friend and favourite photographer'

Well it's a great picture book about Grace Kelly becoming Princess Grace of Monaco. I'm going to post some of the best pics (well there are so many :ohmy:

) and Conant's great captions.

'Through Conant's words and pictures, we see Grace Kelly in all her many roles: Oscar winning screen star, princess, loyal friend, wife and mother. The result is a moving and revealing portrait of a woman who remains the most glamorous and beautiful figure of a bygone golden age.'

'Howell Conant's remarkable photographic collaboration with Grace Kelly began in 1955, just before she won her Oscar, and it continued for more than twenty-five years, until her untimely death.'

1. Introductions: Portraits of a Lady
2. Grace in Jamaica
3. The Swan and the Prince
4. The Voyage to Monaco
5. The Wedding
6. Life with Rainier
7. Starting a family
8. Christmas in Monaco
9. The Duties of a Princess
10. Happy Moments of a Happy Family

tbhrc · Aug 21, 2006

1. Introductions: Portraits of a Lady

'Years after my assistant snapped this picture of me with the newly engaged Grace and Rainier, the couple inscribed it and returned the print as a gift. Rainier wrote, "It would look better underwater" - a reference to our mutual interest in scuba-diving and undersea photography.'

'Conant on assignment in Jamaica in 1955 to photograph Grace Kelly for Collier's' - - 'The prince and princess ceremoniously bestow a royal focusing cloth on Howell Conant, 1957'

'At the last session: Grace and Rainier in Frank Sinatra's Palm Springs home, 1981.'

tbhrc · Aug 21, 2006

2. Grace in Jamaica

'The raised hand meant "Don't take my picture now." We were just getting to know each other on this trip, and I hadn't yet learned how far I could go with her. Grace had definite ideas about how she wanted to look. Though she rejected the traditional studio image, she disliked the sloppiness of candid photography, too. In time, we found a middle ground.'

'I'll never forget this series. Once, when I complained that actors and actresses always fell into cliché poses, Jimmy Cagney suggested that I should get them to act, shoot motion pictures, and then select stills from the film. So, when Grace began playing with a pillow, I grabbed the next best thing - my 35mm motor-drive - and started shooting. Grace was so myopic she couldn't see ten feet in front of her, so she followed the sound of my voice as I "directed" her. "Beautiful," I said over and over again. The more the camera hummed, the more she reacted. "Beautiful. Beautiful." '

tbhrc · Aug 21, 2006

2. Grace in Jamaica

'Grace was a consummate actress. With her on the sultry spring vacation, I noticed that she had a dancer's awareness of her body; her every movement was a telling gesture. Whether she was checking her makeup with the help of sister Peggy or relaxing on the stern of a boat we happened upon on a quiet walk by the water, Grace's arms and legs were as expressive as her face.'

'Our time in Jamaica was the most relaxed I ever saw her - this was one place where Grace could let down her guard and not worry about fans, MGM executives, or critics. Here I was telling her some ridiculous story when she broke down laughing. As usual, I had my camera ready.'

(© Howell Conant)

More tomorrow........ :flowers:

RADKER18 · Aug 21, 2006

Thanks tbhrc love all the pics.

tenngirl · Aug 21, 2006

These pictures are beautiful.

Thank you so much!

tbhrc · Aug 22, 2006

3. The Swan and the Prince

'There is a lot of waiting in movie-making, and that gave her a lot of time to think. She remained remote on the set: quiet, pensive. Wrapped in a camel's-hair overcoat, she stood next to this incongruous-looking stage light and I snapped away. For me, this was a new side of Grace, a hard-working acress.'

'At twenty-six, Grace had reached the top of her profession. The Swan was the first picture in which she recieved top billing, yet her costars were Louis Jourdan, Alec Guiness and Agnes Moorehead. That's Jourdan at left getting a few pointers from director Charles Vidor before his dueling scene with Grace. A studio technician, below, checks the lighting before they shoot.'

tbhrc · Aug 22, 2006

3. The Swan and the Prince

'The distractions prompted Grace to keep her hands busy. Between scenes, she would return to her dressing room and crochet or knit. I would always stay near Grace; my set depended upon everyone knowing that I wasn't just any photographer, that I had Grace's full cooperation.'

'A few weeks after we returned from filming The Swan, she called to announce that she was hoing to marry this Prince So-and-So, and I asked if I would take their engagement picture. I hurried over to her Park Avenue apartment and saw a Grace Kelly I had never seen before. Jamaica had introduced me to the playful Grace, and The Swan to the thoughtful, inward Grace; now I found standing arm in arm with Prince Rainier of Monaco, Grace Kelly Number Three, a woman in love. I was so nervous I forgot to thread my film and shot only four good frames before we quit. Then the couple walked quietly over to the window for a few private words.'

maryshawn · Aug 22, 2006

This is a GREAT book! Thanks for reminding us all of it TBHRC!

The photo of Princess Grace where she is eating an orange on a stick is one of the few he took of her looking "up" at her face as she hated her chin--according to him. But I don't think this woman was capable of taking a bad shot.

princess olga · Aug 23, 2006

Amazing Grace, indeed! Thanks for the pictures, I'd never seen these! Our modern princesses, bar Caroline and Mathilde, can't hold a candle to this woman.

norwegianne · Aug 23, 2006

I think that if you put dark hair on her in this picture - it would be just like seeing Caroline. http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/56/conant10gq3.jpg

Really excellent pictures, tbhrc, but I also enjoy the "captions" that go with them.

tbhrc · Aug 23, 2006

You're welcome. It's really a great book, you get to see some rare pics of the family, acting like everyone else, cooking for the family, just enjoying each others company.

And norwegianne, I completely agree with you, esp. the part around her mouth looks just like Caroline's, imo.

4. The Voyage to Monaco

'Life on the boat was crazy. The press made it seem like a zoo. We cordoned of an area outside Grace's stateroom to protect the wedding party from all the reporters and photographers; at right, Grace and Peggy take advantage of their own privae bit of deck. I was lucky - as Grace's photographer, I had access to her when the others didn't. I was working for Life, yet Grace, Rainier, and I had struck a deal to keep that a secret.'

'While the rest of the press followed each other around, I was able to store my cameras in Grace's stateroom. Photographer's lurked around every corner and peered through every window, hoping to grab a picture of Grace unawares. Here she shields herself with a newspaper.'

tbhrc · Aug 23, 2006

4. The Voyage to Monaco

'Charades was a popular shipboard game, and Grace loved to play. In the series here, she tries her hand at dramatizing the phrase "watch the danger line"; in the last one, along with other members of the wedding party, she tries to guess as agent Jay Kanter (the shadow at far right) acts out "heat transfer and thermodynamics." Paris Match photographer Walter Carone is sitting just behind Grace's right shoulder. We let him play on one condition: no cameras.'

'The Constitution didn't dock in Monaco, so most of the press had to disembark early in Cannes. Paris Match's Walter Carone stayed aboard, wrapped his cameras in plastic, slipped through a porthole, and dropped into the sea, where a small boat sent by his magazine picked him up. Only her parents and I had been allowed to join Grace and Rainier on the yacht; after a chat in the saloon, the couple stood at the bow and looked out at the thousands of people waiting to greet them.'

(© Howell Conant)

To be continued...... :flowers:

tbhrc · Aug 24, 2006

5. The Wedding

'For the civil ceremony, the bride wore a rose-coloured lace dress with silk taffeta and a Juliet cap. Here, she arrives with her mother and father behind her. It was all so impressive, and yet I had to wonder: was this Grace? It turned out that some of the same questions were going through her mind.'

'After the civil ceremony, about three thousand of Grace's new subjects were treated to cake and champagne in the palace courtyard. Now Grace Kelly was a princess, coping with all the glamour and responsibility that went with the title.'

'Rainier and his princess acknowledge the crowds of Monégasques from their palace window that evening. The fuss around the event had made things unpleasant for both of them, yet Grace's innate sense of dignity allowed her to keep up a good appearance.'

(© Howell Conant)

5. The Wedding

'The reception included six hundred guests, but Grace stayed close to the wedding party- Though polite, both she and Rainier were spent from their ordeal and ready to sail off on their honeymoon (they planned to cruise along the Riviera and the coast of Spain). Ava Gardner, who had starred with Grace in Mogambo, asked me if I could get her into the private area to see the bride. When I did, it created a huge fuss from everyone else who wanted to get near. Prince Rainier was annoyed with me for this breach of protocol, but kept his sense of humour. "Hey Howell!" he called out. "Have you got a brother?" When I said yes, the prince replied, "I hope he's nicer than you are!"

'Grace's wedding gown drew a lot of attention. Designed by Helen Rose (who had done the actress's costume for The Swan), it featured 125-year-old Brussels lace, twenty-five yards of silk taffeta, and a veil sewn with tiny pearls. Rainier had designed his own wedding uniform, blending symbols of French and Italian military history (he is wearing the French equivalent of the Medal of Honor). Here they dine at the reception.'

(© Howell Conant)

To be continued...... :flowers:

tbhrc · Aug 26, 2006

6. Life with Rainier

'Their early years together were filled with playfulness. In this series, Grace tries on one of Rainier's hats and strikes a sultry pose before they collapse in laughter. It was 1957, baby Caroline was a year old, and they had asked me to accompany them on vacation in the Swiss Alps. The chalet they rented was in Schönried near Gstaad. "Shtad, Howell! Shtad!" Grace would admonish me whenever I tried to say it. "You don't pronounce the G." But I never could get it right.'

'A workaholic (yes, this prince works hard on the business of his realm), Rainier eased up on his schedule after Caroline's birth; by the time Albert and Stephanie had arrived, he was the quintessential family man. He reads to the two younger ones, and swings Caroline around, interupting a formal portrait sessionwith Grace and her baby in the palace's Gold Room.'

'The prince's own lonely childhood may have been the driving force behind his determination to have a solid family life. Though it shocked Monaco as one of Grace's "American" notions, he joined her in centering their life around their children, insisting that they not be "strangers relegated to the other end of the house," as they are in so many European homes. He nuzzles Caroline in Switzerland, as Fanny the familiy's Rhodesian Ridgeback, does the same to him.'

'Grace and Rainier seemed very much in love when I caught them across the table one night in Switzerland. They had gone to the chalet that summer for privacy; never in their marriage had they had this quiet time together. That are at left is a flare from the candle, Look retouched it out when they used this picture, but I like what it adds to the scene.'

(© Howell Conant)

To be continued...... :flowers:

HRH Kerry · Aug 26, 2006

My favorite pic is of Prince Rainier smooching baby Caroline and Fanny, the dog, is trying to do the same to the prince.

That is truly priceless! :flowers:

Ianna · Sep 21, 2006

What amazing and exlusive photos you posted here, tbhrc!! Thank you so much for sharing! :flowers:

Howell Conant definately deserved the title that Princess Grace and Prince Rainier gave to him! He really made impressive picture book!

flowerpower · Oct 4, 2006

Tbhrc thank you so much for sharing these amazing and so private pictures of Pss Grace and Rainier :flowers:

It’s a fine acquisition you made

xtan · Nov 13, 2006

yeah i enjoyed the pic so much that i ordered the book!!

sm1939 · Jan 18, 2007

those pictures are fab !! Im so going to get that book !

LadyMacAlpine · Jan 24, 2008

During the filming of High Society, David Niven and his wife offered Grace their home so she could meet privately with Prince Rainier, away from the eyes of the press. Howell was invited to one of the gatherings and took photo's. "Life Remembering Grace" from last year was the first time these photo's have been published
Grace
Rainier
Rainier
Rainier and the ladies
Rainier and David Niven
Grace and David Niven
Rainier
Grace and Rainier

Tzu An · Jan 24, 2008

Like a lot of royal brides who were commoners, I don't think Grace was properly trained for her eventual role as Princess Consort. She went from freedom to a heavily restricted life and wasn't eased into her role. I think it's a pretty big mistake to throw someone used to being in charge of their life to the restricted lifestyle of of a full fledged royal. I personally think she should have undergone a brief time where she would train and then marry Ranier. If they had been more discreet, Grace could have secretly trained, fulfilled her contractual obligations to MGM, and then married Ranier.

Elly C · Jan 24, 2008

There's a lovely relaxed & happy mood to these photos. Howell Conant was clearly a trusted friend. I hope some more previously unseen photos will come to light soon.

sandsla · Jan 25, 2008

Tzu An said:
Like a lot of royal brides who were commoners, I don't think Grace was properly trained for her eventual role as Princess Consort. She went from freedom to a heavily restricted life and wasn't eased into her role. I think it's a pretty big mistake to throw someone used to being in charge of their life to the restricted lifestyle of of a full fledged royal. I personally think she should have undergone a brief time where she would train and then marry Ranier. If they had been more discreet, Grace could have secretly trained, fulfilled her contractual obligations to MGM, and then married Ranier.

Where exactly do you think she failed? And where were they not discreet? Considering both were high profile personalities, Grace more than Rainier? i thought they did a pretty good job? Most people didn't even know where Monaco was until Grace married Rainier? I personally think they were very discreet, and I don't understand how Grace could have fufilled her contractual obligations with MGM and at the same time, train for her role? Travel then wasn't a puddle jump away? Plus Grace had a lot of films to make to fulfill her contractual obligations. She had been loaned out to Paramount fot many of her roles? Plus she gave MGM the rights to film her wedding and that was in lieu of fulfilling her contractural obligations. Her wedding put Monaco more on the map than her becoming the Princess of Monaco, mainly because it was pretty much a Hollywood production. She could not be shooting films and training at the same time? Not even close to a possibility? She shot two films after she met Rainier, at least one after she was engaged. There was a reason Rainier had to come visit her. Her career as an actress was demanding and I believe she had quite a few more films to complete for MGM. I think Grace was not the average commoner, she was an Oscar winning actress, she was use to the press and knew how to handle it. She was use to being in the limelight, so the transition there was probably an easy one! Grace was the one that was surprised that the Palace didn't even have a Press Office? She got pregnant on her honeymoon and had two babies in quick succession. I think she balanced her children and palace duties very well, especially for the time. She created much in the way of culture for Monaco including many foundations. I just can't imagine anyone, a consort who could bring more than Grace did for Monaco especially for the 1950's. I do agree that since she was at the top of her career and still young, that if she had been allowed a few more years to fulfill her own needs, she would have evolved more naturally into the role, meaning she would be ready to move on in her life and find other things more fulfilling. But it was the 50's and she was 26 and eager also to have a family. For a Hollywood actress I'm sure her life might have seemed restricting at first, but had she been given too much a glimspe she may have change her mind altogether? :flowers:

Once you own yourself, you own yourself, there is no way of going back or easing out of it! That is equal to unlearning something - How do you ease yourself into being less smart? For me that is the equivalent? No one wants to be owned! But remember it was the 50's. :flowers:

mdeledda · Apr 28, 2008

Grandiose, graziöse Grace

Attaining Grace · Apr 30, 2008

sandsla said:
Where exactly do you think she failed? And where were they not discreet? Considering both were high profile personalities, Grace more than Rainier? i thought they did a pretty good job? Most people didn't even know where Monaco was until Grace married Rainier? I personally think they were very discreet, and I don't understand how Grace could have fufilled her contractual obligations with MGM and at the same time, train for her role? T.

I absolutely agree, Sandsla. I recently read Grace by Robert Lacey (which I reviewed on my blog) and I thought that she handled her situation extremely well and she put Monaco on the map, as you say!

bookaddiction

queenofthelight · Jan 29, 2009

ZUBIAUR · Jan 30, 2009

Thanks for the beautiful photos :flowers:

There are no wods to describe her.She was perfect
She is very natural in these photos.Thanks for posting :flowers:

udyusa · Jan 30, 2009

Absolutely astounding!! I have never seen photos like this of Grace and Rainier. How wonderful to have stumbled upon this thread. I also appreciated the personal comments from the photographer! Just wonderful...

Great shot!! I love it...Grace definately isn't posing here.

EmpressRouge · Feb 18, 2009

queenofthelight said:
This amazing photo was a creation, which Howell Conant made!!!
http://s5.tinypic.com/2eft5is.jpg (Jamaica, 1955)

I remember from the book Conant saying that Grace was wearing no make-up in that picture except maybe some white eye-liner. Show what a completely natural beauty Grace was.

"Grace - An Intimate Portrait" by Howell Conant

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