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The Art of the SNL Portrait

$55.00

By Mary Ellen Matthews; Foreword by Lorne Michaels; With Emily Oberman and Alison Castle; Design by Pentagram

Andy Samberg in a giant martini glass. Billie Eilish peeking out of a pile of snow. Kevin Hart writing his own cue cards. Paul Rudd as Paul McCartney. Sarah Silverman dusting the NBC marquee. Alec Baldwin as the Godfather. Week after week, photographer Mary Ellen Matthews makes magic happen on Saturday Night Live with her inventive, irreverent, and truly original photography for the “bumpers”—portraits of the host or musical guest that transition the show to and from commercial breaks. Published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of SNL and exquisitely designed by Pentagram, this book is the first collection of Mary Ellen’s remarkable body of work as well as a celebration of America’s longest-running comedy TV show. The Art of the SNL Portrait includes more than 200 color portraits and behind-the-scenes photographs; a foreword by SNL founder and executive producer Lorne Michaels; Mary Ellen Matthews in conversation; a thumbnail index of all the images with captions by the photographer.

Retail Price: $55
Details: Hardcover, 272 pages, 11.25” x 9.5”
Publisher: Abrams

Purchase

By Mary Ellen Matthews; Foreword by Lorne Michaels; With Emily Oberman and Alison Castle; Design by Pentagram

Andy Samberg in a giant martini glass. Billie Eilish peeking out of a pile of snow. Kevin Hart writing his own cue cards. Paul Rudd as Paul McCartney. Sarah Silverman dusting the NBC marquee. Alec Baldwin as the Godfather. Week after week, photographer Mary Ellen Matthews makes magic happen on Saturday Night Live with her inventive, irreverent, and truly original photography for the “bumpers”—portraits of the host or musical guest that transition the show to and from commercial breaks. Published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of SNL and exquisitely designed by Pentagram, this book is the first collection of Mary Ellen’s remarkable body of work as well as a celebration of America’s longest-running comedy TV show. The Art of the SNL Portrait includes more than 200 color portraits and behind-the-scenes photographs; a foreword by SNL founder and executive producer Lorne Michaels; Mary Ellen Matthews in conversation; a thumbnail index of all the images with captions by the photographer.

Retail Price: $55
Details: Hardcover, 272 pages, 11.25” x 9.5”
Publisher: Abrams

Purchase

  • Mary Ellen Matthews, a New York native, has been a top entertainment portrait photographer for over two decades. She has created colorful, iconic images of every well-known personality of the age. Since 1999, she has been the photographer for Saturday Night Live, where she has been responsible for creating (and re-creating each season) the distinctive look of the show’s still images.

    Lorne Michaels is the creator and producer of Saturday Night Live.

    Alison Castle is the editor of numerous books on photography, film, and design, including The Stanley Kubrick Archives, Linda McCartney: Life in Photographs, Saturday Night Live: The Book, and Jacques Tati: The Complete Works.

    Emily Oberman is an award-winning multidisciplinary designer whose work encompasses brand identity, motion graphics, publications, packaging, advertising, and digital. She is a partner in the New York office of Pentagram, the acclaimed international design studio, where her clients have included Saturday Night Live, Warner Bros., Netflix, Amazon, and many more.