Jackie: My Obsession

Dubbed %E2%80%9CPaparazzo Extraordinaire%E2%80%9D by Newsweek, Galella (Jacqueline, No Pictures) offers up this compendium of his favorite photos of his favorite subject: iconic former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Despite legal battles%E2%80%94Onasis sued Galella twice and the court issued him a restraining order%E2%80%94the photographer is unabashed in describing his constant fascination with Onassis, whom he considered the most glamorous woman in the world. While the quality of the photographs themselves%E2%80%94which are all taken on the street or in social settings%E2%80%94is inconsistent, many are entrancing in their candid depictions of Onassis%E2%80%99s everyday life, as well as her social life. In a photo snapped on her niece%E2%80%99s wedding day in 1980, Onassis, surrounded by family, gazes directly into the camera, flashing a characteristically mysterious smile that is at once inviting and distancing. Another shot, taken in Capri, Italy, in 1970, shows the often tumultuous relationship between subject and photographer: Onassis seems to be gesturing angrily at an outdoor cafe, and is alleged to have said, %E2%80%9CCall the police%E2%80%94arrest that man,%E2%80%9D in reference to Galella. More than a tale of personal obsession, however, the photographs here are a testament to America%E2%80%99s complicated and voyeuristic relationship with celebrity.