Hugo Balin

(1879 - 1956) Hugo Ballin was a successful fine artist as well as pioneer Art Director, film director, and producer during the silent era. He studied painting and later taught at the Art Students League in New York City. In 1912 he started designing for the new Edison Studios in the Bronx. It was at Edison that he hired a part-time student and department store window dresser named Cedric Gibbons as his assistant. In 1916 Samuel Goldwyn was creating a Goldwyn quality brand for his new pictures when he invited Ballin to join his company in Fort Lee, and later in Hollywood. Ballin had never been satisfied with art direction, so during the early 1920s he pursued directing and producing his own pictures. He remained an independent filmmaker until the rising studio system denied him access to distribution. He then returned to his freelance career as a portrait artist, illustrator, and pre-eminent muralist.