This is my contribution to the Third Annual Buster Keaton Blogathon, hosted by the excellent Silent-ology blog. This year's blogathon is a celebration of the 100th anniversary of start of Keaton's film career.
So far in my research I have only come across one Evans photo of Buster. It most likely was taken around the time he started his solo career in 1920.
Evans may have only photographed Keaton on this one occasion, but he did create portraits of some of Buster's leading ladies, both on and off the screen.
Probably the earliest of these portraits is this one of Phyllis Haver. Phyllis appeared along side Buster in The Balloonatic (1923). Of course, a few years earlier she gained fame as one of Mack Sennett's bathing beauties and was photographed many times by Evans at the time. This particular photo seems to be from very early in her career, probably at the beginning of 1917.
Alice Lake was the lead actress in several of the excellent films Buster made with Roscoe Arbuckle at the beginning of his career. This is one of my favorite Evans photos, very modern but taken before 1920.
Arguably the most popular of Buster's leading ladies is Sybil Seely. Like Phyllis (and another Buster co-star, Virginia Fox), Sybil spent some time with Sennett as a bathing beauty. Her tour of duty came after Evans had left the studio, but he did at least one portrait session with her.
One of Keaton's first leading ladies off the screen was actress Viola Dana. Alas, the romance didn't last very long. Evans photographed Viola (as well as her sister Shirley Mason) many times.
Evans doesn't appear to have done any portraits of Keaton's first wife, Natalie Talmadge, but he did photograph her more famous sister, Constance. Normally I would apologize for pulling a switch like this, but considering the low opinion many Keaton fans have of Natalie, perhaps it is for the best! BTW, another favorite photo of mine.
