Frank Worth

''The most extraordinary collection of its kind in the past fifty years Christie's of London Frank Worth was a friend and confidant to many of Hollywood's elite; his photographs reveal the person behind the persona. His private and personal loyalties to the stars kept him from publishing most of his images. Consequently, only a few of his extraordinary photographs were seen during his lifetime. Worth eked out a modest living as a freelance photographer in Hollywood during the 1940's and 50's, when most photographers were constrained by the powerful studio system. However, Worth used his personal relationships to sidestep these restrictions, creating the greatest collection of candid, intimate images of classic Hollywood icons by any photographer. Following his death in Los Angeles in 2000, the family of the ''reluctant'' Frank Worth found a treasure trove of incredible photographs of screen legends such as Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jayne Mansfield and Elizabeth Taylor. Worth had recorded a private and vivid history of the last years of the golden age of Hollywood.