Robert Gebhart

Hanagan (left), Gebhart (right)

Robert Gebhart, better know as Gebbé, began photographing bodybuilders in New York's Upper East Side in the early 1930s. He remained active in the field until the 1950s, always based in New York.

By chance, Robert Gebhart met Alonzo James Hanagan at the West 63rd Street YMCA on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in the late 1930s. Gebhart showing someone his photographs of bodybuilders, when Alonzo James Hanagan introduced himself and expressed an interest in becoming a physique photographer. Gebhart became a mentor and lifelong friend of Hanagan, who went on to become a legendary physique photographer.