William Cameron Menzies

(1896 - 1957) William Cameron Menzies was the youngest among this first generation of Art Directors to come to Hollywood during the silent era. His talents as a designer and filmmaker elevated the profession of Art Direction, culminating in the term “Production Design,” and his prolific output of motion pictures was astounding. His earliest jobs included magazine layouts and illustrating children’s books. Menzies was influenced by his mentor Anton Grot’s methods for designing motion pictures, and became known for the creation of evocative, meticulous continuity sketches and storyboards to plan all the visuals. Director Raoul Walsh first brought Menzies to Hollywood in 1921. Mary Pickford hired him to design Rosita (1923), after which he became lead Art Director for Walsh on Douglas Fairbanks’ dazzling fantasy adventure The Thief of Bagdad (1924). This picture launched Menzies’ career, establishing him as one of the most sought-after art directors in Hollywood. Menzies won the first Oscar for Art Direction in 1929, and would go on win an Honorary Oscar for color design, for the epic Civil War Technicolor romance Gone With the Wind (1939).