Henri Amédée Ménessier

1882-1948 Henri Ménessier's career connects European 19th century theatre traditions with 20th century cinema, a time of rapid evolution and innovation. A gifted painter, he began his career in 1902 as a scenic artist at the Amable Atelier in Paris. In 1905 Alice Guy-Blaché hired him to supervise her first art department at the Gaumont studio. Building on the innovations of Méliès, he expanded the methodology of art direction before it had a name. Possessing a sophisticated cinematic style, he came to America in 1910. After working on Broadway and at Guy-Blaché’s new Solax studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey, in 1919 he arrived in Hollywood, where he designed many pictures with leading directors of the silent era before returning to France in 1929.