RANCHO SANTA FE — Jim Frank knew what he was looking for.
Whether commissioned for a job or photographing the style, glamour and personalities that defined New Hollywood in the 1970s and 1980s, Frank developed a distinctive way of capturing the scene.
“My eyes are for rent,” he told The Coast News.
A collection of Frank’s previously unpublished photographs from that era will hang at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe for the next three years. The Jim Frank Archive, featuring images from his Hollywood Renaissance Collection, debuted at Bing’s Bar during an event that served popcorn and caviar in homage to the era.
At the event, Frank held court, regaling more than 115 attendees, according to event organizers, with stories of life among the fascinating and famous during the glitzy, glamorous period before social media.
“I don’t take photos,” he said. “I make photos.”
The collection was curated by Jennifer Findley, a collector and founder of JFiN Collective, who said Frank compiled and chronicled a “very special time.”
“The Jim Frank Archive understands the era,” Findley said. “It represents an era and it represents celebrity and really the joy of beauty and life.”
Fence, an art gallery in Rancho Santa Fe, will also host a pop-up exhibition of Frank’s photos for two weeks, beginning Jan. 16.
Nicole Frank, Jim’s daughter, developed photo negatives and sorted through more than 100,000 previously unpublished images she discovered in her father’s home. Addressing the well-dressed crowd, Nicole said the collection was “too great of a treasure not to preserve” and sheds light on “untold stories that deserve to be shared.”
“The last four years have been a labor of love, going through each and every image in the archive, not knowing what I would find or what I would do with it,” Nicole said. “I’m truly grateful that I learned about my father’s very colorful life through the magic of his storytelling.
“This journey has brought me deep respect, closeness and greater love for my father than I ever knew possible.”
Jim Frank said his daughter picked up where he left off.
“You’ve done a wonderful job organizing me,” he said to Nicole in front of the crowd.
Reflecting on the friendships and memories from the era — and how he now gets to share them through his art — Jim Frank summed it up in a clean, sincere manner befitting his unguarded yet glowing photos.
“I’ve been spoiled,” he said.
