Hollywood Art

The heyday of Hollywood studio art departments was in the 1930s and 40s when strong art directors like Cedric Gibbons and Hans Dreier brought together more artists and artisans under one roof working on the same projects than any other enterprise in the history of modern American art. This is the first book to trace the history of studio art direction; the powerful visual presence of films like Rebecca and Gone with the Wind are put into context. The origins of art direction in the early motion pictures, the organization of art departments, and the nature of art direction from the 1920s to the 1950s are covered in early chapters. Then each studio is discussed individually with an examination of its art department and a survey of its output through the fifties. Comprehensive filmographies (a first) provide films and release dates for 226 art directors.