Hurrell came to California when he was 21, planning to be a painter. He soon found that photography sold better. His original glamour girl was a plain, chunky woman with a generous, outsized personality: Florence "Pancho" Barnes, a Pasadena heiress and aviatrix (now, there's a glamorous term) remembered today for her appearance in Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff. They met at a Christmas dinner at the home of painter William Griffith.

Hurrell took many photos of her, including this 1928 shot for her pilot's license. (The license itself, signed by Orville Wright, also appears in the Palm Springs exhibit.) In it, we see many of the elements that would mark Hurrell's Hollywood stills: a confident woman with perfect skin, her face highlighted to emphasize its femininity, individuality, and strength. Unlike his peers, Hurrell avoided soft focus, then the vogue. "I was trying to get character into my work," he said. "That's why I went sharp."