Art & culture
Andy Warhol and the photobooth
How repeated portraits became material for an artist.
A shelf in the photobooth library
Famous faces in the photobooth
Behind the curtain, a famous face becomes a small photograph. Explore 31 named people whose booth portraits are documented by museums, an artist’s own account or an identified auction record. Approximate dates stay approximate, and each entry keeps its evidence close.
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André Breton
Centre Pompidou holds his photomaton self-portrait from about 1929. The record identifies a gelatin silver strip, 25.9 by 3.8 centimetres, in the surrealist group collection.
Centre Pompidou — André Breton, PhotomatonRaymond Queneau
Centre Pompidou dates his four-view photomaton self-portrait to about 1929. The strip is catalogued as a gelatin silver print, 20.5 by 3.8 centimetres, within the surrealist group collection.
Centre Pompidou — Raymond Queneau, photomaton portrait (circa 1929)Paul Éluard
His photomaton self-portrait is dated to about 1929 in the Centre Pompidou collection. The catalogue identifies a gelatin silver print and records its acquisition in 2003; that later year is not the date of the sitting.
Centre Pompidou — Paul Éluard, photomaton portrait (circa 1929)Louis Aragon
Centre Pompidou holds his photomaton self-portrait from about 1929. Its record identifies the sitter by name and describes a small gelatin silver print, 5.1 by 3.8 centimetres.
Centre Pompidou — Louis Aragon, photomaton portrait (circa 1929)Yves Tanguy
A photomaton self-portrait dated to about 1929 survives in the Centre Pompidou collection. The record places this gelatin silver strip in the surrealist group collection.
Centre Pompidou — Yves Tanguy, photomaton portrait (circa 1929)Jacques-André Boiffard
Centre Pompidou catalogues his photomaton self-portrait from about 1929. Its inventory record identifies a gelatin silver print measuring 4.3 by 3.8 centimetres.
Centre Pompidou — Jacques-André Boiffard, photomaton portrait (circa 1929)E.L.T. Mesens
The Centre Pompidou record names him as the sitter in a photomaton self-portrait dated to about 1929. It describes three views and lists the photographic author as anonymous.
Centre Pompidou — E.L.T. Mesens, photomaton portrait (circa 1929)Marie-Berthe Aurenche
Centre Pompidou preserves a photomaton strip of her dated to about 1929. A separate group strip also names her alongside Jean Aurenche and Max Ernst.
Centre Pompidou — Marie-Berthe Aurenche, photomaton portrait (circa 1929)Marcel Duhamel
His photomaton strip is dated to about 1929 in the Centre Pompidou collection. The museum names him as the sitter and records the gelatin silver object as part of the surrealist group collection.
Centre Pompidou — Marcel Duhamel, photomaton portrait (circa 1929)Jacques Prévert
Centre Pompidou holds a photomaton portrait of him from about 1929, as well as a separate strip with Pierre Prévert. These are distinct catalogue records rather than one photograph with interchangeable captions.
Centre Pompidou — Jacques Prévert, photomaton portrait (circa 1929)Pierre Prévert
He appears with Jacques Prévert in a photomaton strip catalogued by Centre Pompidou and dated to about 1929. The museum identifies both sitters in its description of this gelatin silver print.
Centre Pompidou — Pierre and Jacques Prévert, photomaton portrait (circa 1929)Max Ernst
Centre Pompidou preserves his photomaton strip from about 1929. Another record names him together with Jean Aurenche and Marie-Berthe Aurenche, documenting both solo and shared booth portraits.
Centre Pompidou — Max Ernst, photomaton portrait (circa 1929)Jean Aurenche
A Centre Pompidou photomaton record names him with Marie-Berthe Aurenche and Max Ernst. The group strip is dated to about 1929 and measures 21 by 3.8 centimetres.
Centre Pompidou — Jean Aurenche, Marie-Berthe Aurenche and Max Ernst, photomaton portrait (circa 1929)Suzanne Muzard
Centre Pompidou names her in a photomaton portrait dated to about 1929. Its record places the print within the surrealist group collection and distinguishes the creation date from the 2003 acquisition.
Centre Pompidou — Suzanne Muzard, photomaton portrait (circa 1929)Paul Nougé
His photomaton strip from about 1929 is held by Centre Pompidou. The museum names the sitter and describes the gelatin silver object within its surrealist group collection.
Centre Pompidou — Paul Nougé, photomaton portrait (circa 1929)Walker Evans
In 1929 the photographer sat for an automated photobooth self-portrait. The Met’s record 1996.166.33 identifies a tiny gelatin silver print; the museum accession year is separate from the year it was made.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Walker Evans, automated photobooth self-portrait (1929)Gala
The Dalí Foundation’s exhibition identifies a photobooth self-portrait of Gala from about 1929. Its caption credits the Emmanuel Boussard Library. The exhibition also discusses how she and Salvador Dalí performed for the automatic camera.
Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí — Gala/Dalí: image and mirrorSalvador Dalí
The Dalí Foundation identifies his photobooth self-portrait from about 1929 in its exhibition on Gala and Dalí. It presents automatic portraits alongside other photographic experiments; the booth picture is a specifically identified work.
Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí — Gala/Dalí: image and mirrorMarilyn Monroe
Swann’s auction record describes an early photobooth self-portrait from about 1940, when she was still known as Norma Jeane Baker. Separately, The Met names Monroe among the sitters in Richard Avedon’s 1957 photobooth feature for Esquire.
Swann Auction Galleries — Marilyn Monroe photobooth portrait, sale 2370, lot 172The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Mel Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn, and Truman Capote (1957)Audrey Hepburn
She appears between Mel Ferrer and Truman Capote in Richard Avedon’s 1957 automated photobooth portrait, held by The Met. The museum connects the sitting to the Esquire feature and publicity for Funny Face.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Mel Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn, and Truman Capote (1957)Mel Ferrer
The Met names him with Audrey Hepburn and Truman Capote in Avedon’s 1957 photobooth portrait. The record identifies the object as a gelatin silver print and explains the automatic booth used for the session.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Mel Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn, and Truman Capote (1957)Truman Capote
The author shares Avedon’s 1957 photobooth frame with Mel Ferrer and Audrey Hepburn. The Met’s collection record identifies all three sitters, making this a documented group portrait.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Mel Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn, and Truman Capote (1957)Willie Mays
The Met’s account names him among the people photographed for Richard Avedon’s 1957 Esquire photobooth feature. This entry relies on the museum’s description of the feature; its linked collection object depicts Hepburn, Ferrer and Capote.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Mel Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn, and Truman Capote (1957)Andy Warhol
The Andy Warhol Museum documents an early self-portrait cut from a photobooth strip. It connects his automatic-camera portraits with his experiments in self-presentation, while distinguishing them from his later Polaroid photographs.
The Andy Warhol Museum — Andy Warhol & SelfiesThe Andy Warhol Museum — The New Warhol Photobooth!Ethel Scull
A photobooth sitting became the source for Warhol’s Ethel Scull 36 Times, dated 1963. The Whitney’s collection account describes the changing expressions and the movement from small booth pictures to a painted, repeated portrait.
Whitney Museum — Ethel Scull 36 Times (1963)Holly Solomon
The Whitney holds a Warhol photobooth portrait dated 1966. Christie’s separately catalogues a print dated 1963–1964 and recounts Solomon’s booth sitting on Broadway. Those dates belong to different identified objects.
Whitney Museum — Holly Solomon (1966)Christie’s — Holly Solomon, photobooth print (1963–1964)Patti Smith
In her 2021 first-person account, Smith remembers visiting the Playland Arcade photobooth in Times Square with Robert Mapplethorpe. She shares pictures captioned 1968 and 1969–1970; 2021 is the publication year of the recollection.
Patti Smith — 100 Cities: New York City, Photo Booth (2021)Robert Mapplethorpe
Patti Smith recalls their shared booth visits and describes Mapplethorpe using photo strips in drawings or collages. Her account offers a named participant’s memory of these sessions, rather than a museum date for every surviving strip.
Patti Smith — 100 Cities: New York City, Photo Booth (2021)Lee Godie
The Keen Collection describes her photobooth self-portraits with changing personas, clothing and props. Treger Saint Silvestre also records ink applied to a unique black-and-white booth photograph. These sources document both capture and later interventions.
The Keen Collection — Lee GodieTreger Saint Silvestre — Lee GodieAlain Baczynsky
Centre Pompidou records his colour photomatons with annotations made after analysis sessions. One print is dated 24 September 1980, within a series dated 1979–1981. The writing on the reverse forms part of the documented work.
Centre Pompidou — Alain Baczynsky, PhotomatonTomoko Sawada
For ID400, Sawada appeared as four hundred imagined people in an automated ID-photo machine. Tokyo Photographic Art Museum dates its record to 1998; MoMA dates its own group of 100 prints to 1998–2001.
Tokyo Photographic Art Museum — Tomoko Sawada, ID400Museum of Modern Art — ID400 #101–200A dated collection record identifies a particular object. An exhibition year, acquisition year and memoir publication date are different kinds of dates. Photographs remain with the linked archives; this catalogue does not reproduce restricted celebrity images.
The guides on this shelf.
Art & culture
The Surrealists discover the Photomaton
Paris, 1929, and the strange freedom of a camera without an operator.
Art & culture
Walker Evans in an automated photobooth, 1929
A tiny museum print opens a different door into a photographer’s self-portrait.
Art & culture
Tomoko Sawada’s ID400: one person, many identities
An automated ID camera becomes the setting for an experiment in appearance.
Art & culture
Alain Baczynsky’s annotated photobooth diary
A photograph and its handwritten reverse record more than appearance alone.
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Lee Godie’s photobooth self-portraits
Clothing, props and added marks turn a repeatable portrait into a personal vocabulary.
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Raymond Queneau’s four-view Photomaton
A small sequence preserved in the Centre Pompidou collection.
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Paul Éluard in a small Photomaton portrait
The museum record keeps the poet’s identity and the object’s history separate.
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Louis Aragon’s Photomaton portrait
A catalogue entry connects a small print to a wider Surrealist collection.
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Jacques-André Boiffard before the booth camera
A photographer becomes the subject of an automated portrait.
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E.L.T. Mesens and a three-view Photomaton
A booth record that does not fit a universal four-frame rule.
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Marie-Berthe Aurenche’s Photomaton strip
A named sitter in a machine-attributed portrait.
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Marcel Duhamel’s long Photomaton strip
A narrow object with a specific collection reference.
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Jacques Prévert alone in the Photomaton
Distinguish the individual strip from the portrait of two brothers.
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Pierre and Jacques Prévert share the booth
Two represented people, one catalogue object.
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Max Ernst in an automated portrait
The machine’s attribution remains part of the object record.
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Jean and Marie-Berthe Aurenche with Max Ernst
A group portrait identified by the museum catalogue.
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Suzanne Muzard’s small Photomaton portrait
A compact print with a separate collection identity.
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Paul Nougé’s Photomaton portrait
A narrow strip in the Centre Pompidou’s Surrealist group.
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Audrey Hepburn, Mel Ferrer and Truman Capote in a booth
Richard Avedon made a small portrait with an automated camera in 1957.
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Marilyn Monroe when she was Norma Jeane
An early photobooth self-portrait is dated to about 1940.
Art & culture
Gala and Dalí behind the photobooth curtain
The foundation’s exhibition archive documents their automatic self-portraits.
Art & culture
Holly Solomon: two documented photobooth objects
A museum print and an auctioned print have different catalogue dates.
Art & culture
Patti Smith remembers the booth with Robert Mapplethorpe
A first-person account preserves an everyday New York ritual.
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Warhol’s photobooth portrait and the selfie comparison
A museum essay links older self-portraiture with digital culture.
Art & culture
Ethel Scull 36 Times is a painting made from booth images
Distinguish the source photographs from Warhol’s finished work.