Grand Opening of the George Daniell Museum in South Beach’s New Wilzig Museum Building

Grand Opening Of The George Daniell Museum In South Beach’s New Wilzig Museum Building During Miami Beach Pride Week

George Daniell was a gay American photographer and artist known for his portraits of Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Lena Horne and Georgia O’Keeffe. The new George Daniell Museum features photographs, paintings and aquarelles from the artist’s life.

George Daniell, ‘Audrey Hepburn, 1955’

The new George Daniell Museum is proud to announce its grand opening in South Beach during Miami Beach Pride Week. The celebration will take place on Wednesday, April 3rd starting at 6pm. The opening will feature music by DJs Andres Aguirre and Mayra Jaimes, an open bar, and access to the museum galleries. The event is free to attend.

George Daniell, ‘Couple on Motorcycle Rome, 1955’

George Daniell was a gay American photographer and artist. He worked for Time and Life magazines, and was known for his portraits of Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Lena Horne, and Georgia O’Keeffe. The new George Daniell Museum features photographs, paintings and aquarelles from throughout the artist’s life, reborn into the public consciousness thanks to the German organization Zentraldepot.

George Daniell, ‘Sophia Loren, Rome’

George Daniell was an accomplished photographer and portraitist. He received degrees in Photography and Painting from Yale University. Growing up in Yonkers, New York, he began photographing local life. During the Great Depression, he photographed fishermen in areas off of the Hudson River and on Grand Manan Island. After college he began doing freelance work for Life, Time, and Esquire magazines. In the 1950s he traveled to Italy and worked on the sets of Cinecetti Studios. He saw both poles of life in Italy at that period; sometimes he was busy photographing glamorous movie stars like Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren, while at others he was exploring the post-war damage Italy had experienced.

George Daniell, ‘Big Brothers Shoulders in Rome’

Daniell’s work has been shown in numerous exhibitions over the past seven decades. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. Georgia O’Keeffe, John Marin, and more recently Bruce Weber, have all made public their admiration for Daniell’s work.

George Daniell, ‘Georgia O’Keeffe, 1952’

The George Daniell Museum will open in the new Wilzig Museum Building located in South Beach, which currently houses the WEAM, the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to fine erotic art founded by the late Naomi Wilzig in 2005. The opening of the George Daniell Museum is the first step in the development of the space as a future multi-museum building.

Photograogh from George Daniell's Italian Men series

The grand opening will take place as part of Miami Beach Pride Week in partnership with WEAM. The celebration will take place on Wednesday, April 3rd starting at 6pm. The opening will feature music by DJs Andres Aguirre and Mayra Jaimes, an open bar, and access to the museum galleries. The event is free to attend. In addition, there will be a George Daniell pop-up shop that will offer first access to limited edition photo portfolios by the artist. The Wilzig Museum Building, WEAM, and the George Daniell Museum and pop-up shop are all located at 1205 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach, visit the website for more information www.georgedaniell.org