On the far side of the lens - Victor Kraft photographed by Beaton (and others)

By Cecil Beaton, circa 1935.

A "ballet film improvisation" with Princess Natalie Paley, directed by Pavel Tchelitchew and photographed by Beaton, 1935.

*

By Carl Van Vechten, 1935.

Victor Kraft (né Victor Hugo Etler Kraftsov; 8 August 1915, Oneonta, New York – 2 July 1976, Maine), professional photographer and life-long friend/lover of composer Aaron Copland. A violin prodigy, he gave concerts as a child. He later attended Juilliard and studied composition with Roger Sessions. When he was sixteen, he met Copeland who encouraged him to give up music and focus on photography. The two would maintain a close relationship until Kraft's death; Copeland called Kraft his, "pupil, companion, secretary and friend." He went on to contribute photographs to many of the most prominent publications of the day, he worked as a photojournalist during the Spanish Civil War, and became known for his portraits of leading figures in the world of music. All this time, though, he was also paid by Copland as his secretary and chauffeur, and the two lived together and traveled extensively. All through their relationship Copeland had a series of affairs or brief relationships with other handsome young men, much to Kraft's distress. And after a retaliatory affair with Leonard Bernstein, he married writer Pearl Kazin in 1951; only a few months later he returned to Copeland. Nine years after that, though, he married again and settled in Croton-on-Hudson, nearby to Copeland. The couple had a son - Copeland was the godfather - but the child was mentally handicapped. In 1968 Kraft, long upset about his son's condition and the state of his relationship with Copeland, kidnapped the then seven-year-old Jeremy and left the country for several months. Copeland remained in contact though, even meeting with Kraft in England and Israel. And only a few years later when Kraft died of a heart attack in Maine at the age of sixty, Copeland looked out for Jeremy, paid his tuition at a private school, and later helped him get training to become an auto mechanic.

By George Platt Lynes, 1936.

Randomly XII

Red parrot tulip, by August Wilhelm Sievert, 1730.

Standing Man with White T-shirt and Shorts (Jack Fontan), by George Platt Lynes, circa 1954.

A lady, Bapha, Nepal, 1939. (Courtesy Ralf De Jonge.)

Maria Anna of Pfalz-Neuburg, consort of Carlos II of Spain, by Godfried Schalcken, 1690.

La Grande gerbe d'eau à Marly, by Hubert Robert, 1779.

Mrs. Henry Butterfield, by Norbert Schrödl, 1864.

May Day celebration, Lvov, Ukraine, unknown photographer, 1968.

Fräulein Jungmann-Frühling, by Nicola Perscheid, circa 1900.

Retrato de señora con perro, by Julio Vila y Prades, circa 1912-14.

Apollon et Cyparisse, by Claude-Marie Dubufe, 1821.

German chimney sweeps, circa 1918. Courtesy Stefan Ways. (His great grandfather took this right after the end of WWI.)

Saint Veronica of Milan, by François-Joseph Navez, 1816.

Advertisement for Umegatani Sake, 1926.

Phillips Holmes, 1930.

An Irish Aviatrix (Lady Mary Heath), by Sir John Lavery, 1928.

Max Egon II, Fürst zu Fürstenberg, in the uniform of the Garde du Corps, by Philip de László, 1899.

Ballerina, by Arturo Noci, 1920.

Old Woman Examining a Piece of Gold by the Light of a Lantern/Allegory of Greed, by Gerrit van Honthorst, 1623.

The Bad Sower, by Gustave van de Woestyne, 1908.

Man Sitting in Japanese House with Teapot and Cups, by Baron de Meyer, circa 1900-1910.

Portrait of a Child, Abraham van Strij, 1782.

Child with a Ball, by Johann Baptist Reiter, 1865.

Lady on Horseback, by Roger Fenton, circa 1850s.

The centaur Chiron and Achilles, by Giuseppe Crespi, circa 1695-97.

Study for a "Massacre of the Innocents", French school, circa 1810s.

African-American showgirls in feline costumes, circa 1920s.

Mathieu and the Birds, by Martin Douvil, 2012.

Portrait of the artist's wife (Gabrielle Vallotton), by Félix Vallotton, 1905.

Marion Davies‘ portable star trailer, by Clarence Sinclair Bull, circa 1930s.

Taos, New Mexico, by William Victor Higgins, 1921.

Susanna van Collen née Mogge and her daughter, by Hermanus Numan, 1776.

Fashion illustration, 1780s.

Couch on the Porch, Cos Cob, by Frederick Childe Hassam, circa 1914.

Louise Christiane Fugl, by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, 1825.

Le Supplice d'Ixion, by Abel de Pujol, 1824.

Lady with Lorgnette, by unknown artist, circa 1830s.

Self-portrait with a Portrait of his Wife, Margaretha van Rees, and their Daughter Maria, by Adriaen van der Werff, 1699.

Portrait of Mary Stuart II, while Princess of Orange, by Caspar Netscher, 1683.

Mario Helne, by Lucius L. Gardner, 1898.

Self-portrait with dog, by Bernhard Österman, circa 1900-20.

Tintype, circa 1870s.

Candelabra with Roses, by John Singer Sargent, circa 1885.

Head of a Boy, by Max Klinger, unknown date.

Self-Portrait, by Henri Fantin-Latour, circa 1858.

Nocturne: Orangery Staircase, Versailles, by Edward Steichen, 1908.

The West Wind, by Winslow Homer, 1891.