About Us
Why mptv Images?
Because we’ve been helping visually tell stories for decades with the world’s most exclusive collection of entertainment photography. On top of that, our images hang in museums, institutions, galleries, public spaces and homes the world over. Picture professionals everywhere – photo editors to art buyers and every creative in between – flock to us, not only for our expertise, but also for our unsurpassed quality, unique content and attentive service.
It’s a Place for People with Discerning Taste
A high-quality and exclusive collection of more than 4 million images allows for endless storytelling and decorating possibilities.
We Update our Site Daily
Hundreds of new items are added to the site each week, and our team of researchers and editors handpick the best to showcase.
Our Images Are Trusted
We represent the top photographers and collectors around the world ensuring that the images you get are cleared, which means no rights issue hassles down the road.
Enjoy Expert Research
Our dedicated researchers will answer your questions and assist with whatever requests you have. Further, we don’t charge for research and our vast archive contains thousands of unseen images that will help you to tell your story or fill your space with remarkable photography. Let us help make you look better.
The mptv Images Promise
It’s simple: High-quality imagery, fair prices and world class service.
The Collection
Think of some of the 20th century’s most iconic images:
Elvis Presley reaching down to grasp the outstretched arms of his hometown Tupelo, Mississippi fans on an October afternoon in 1956;
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and a pack of 9 other men gathered around a pool table in 1960 during the making of a film called "Ocean's 11”;
Sophia Loren, newly arrived to Hollywood, casting a downward side-glance at Jayne Mansfield's ample bosom during a 1957 party at Mike Romanoff's eponymous restaurant;
Farrah Fawcett, a fresh-faced young star, posing in a red bathing suit in front of an old Indian blanket.
You may not think mptv, but you’re seeing us. For over 25 years we’ve been helping visually tell stories with one of the world’s most exclusive collections of entertainment photography. Founded by photographer Sid Avery, whose talent was astutely described by Vanity Fair’s Michael Callahan in a 2014 piece:
"Sid shot almost every cinema giant of the mid-20th century and pulled off a feat surpassing even that: he captured them unguarded, stripping away the studio and P.R. artifice to find the people hiding underneath."
This same keen eye of Avery’s, lucky for posterity, also focused beyond the moment of the snapshot and saw the value in preserving and celebrating, not only his own photography, but that of his colleagues for future generations. It is with this vision that mptv was born. With a current roster of over 60 photographers, Sid’s son, Ron Avery, currently manages a bustling and continually expanding Archive with a lineup of talent that includes such photographers as Bob Willoughby, Mark Shaw, Bruce McBroom, Sanford Roth and Bobby Holland, to name several.