Page 8 - Boca Club News - July '22

Page 8, Boca Club News
Boca Happenings

“Boca Museum of Art Offers Hollywood Double Feature...”

“Art of the Hollywood Backdrop”

is Boca Museum of Art’s World Premiere

Exhibition Honoring Cinema’s Creative Legacy

The first museum show dedicated to Hollywood’s backdrop of Mount Rushmore from the 1959 MGM film with the last surviving artists, their family members, and
painted backdrops, the grandest illusions ever created for the North By Northwest. Produced and directed by Alfred their acolytes, to record and preserve their previously
movies, is on exhibition now through January 22nd, 2023 Hitchcock, the film starred Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint. unacknowledged histories. “It was essential to capture these
at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. It honors the unsung “Especially because it was such a key player in the telling of artist’s stories before they disappeared,” said Maness.
heroes who created these monumental canvases for the this story.”
camera, going back almost 100 years–artists who were the Maness also conducted extensive oral history interviews “Art of the Hollywood Backdrop” on page 10
backbone of the film industry.
The exhibition was originated by the Boca Raton
Museum of Art and is co-curated by Thomas A. Walsh and
Karen L. Maness, who played pivotal roles among a group
of passionate Hollywood insiders to salvage these American
treasures. The result in the Museum’s galleries is a magical
portal that takes the terms “large-scale,” “immersive,” and
“virtual reality” to a whole new level.
“This exhibition of movie backdrops is not to be missed.
These monumental paintings were essential to moviemaking
for almost a century, and were never meant to be seen by
the public with the naked eye. Having this rare opportunity
to experience these American masterpieces up close is long
overdue,” said Leonard Maltin, the renowned film critic, Jeffrey S. Fromowitz, M.D., F.A.A.D.
historian, and author.
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North by Northwest, MGM (1959). Cary Grant & Eva Marie
Saint, Digital still All new patients receive a FREE Gift after your first visit!!

This exhibition of 22 scenic backdrops, made for the *Certain restrictions apply. New patients only
movies between 1938 and 1968, celebrates an art form Dermatology of Boca
nearly forgotten–one that recalls a well-deserved moment
in the spotlight for the dozens of unidentified studio artists 4601 North Federal Highway • Boca Raton, FL 33431
whose uncredited craftsmanship made scenes of Mount
Rushmore, Ben Hur’s Rome, the Von Trapp Family’s 561-362-8000
Austrian Alps, and Gene Kelly’s Paris street dance possible.
The show’s immersive components include interactive Dermatology of Boca 14.pmd 1 1/19/2012, 9:22 AM
video reels created in Hollywood specifically for this
exhibition, telling the stories behind each backdrop. Norbert Graber, R. Ph.
Soundscapes have been engineered to surround visitors in and Lynn Graber, R. Ph.
the museum, including atmospheric sound effects related
to the original movies, and to the scenic vistas.
Said Irvin Lippman, the executive director of the Boca
Raton Museum of Art: “It is miraculous that these historic
monumental paintings were not lost forever, as so many
Hollywood treasures have disappeared. The concept for this
show had its genesis with a CBS Sunday Morning segment
that called attention to the campaign to preserve scenic
backdrops that had laid rolled up in the basement of MGM’s
studios. Lynne Coakley, Karen L. Maness and Thomas
A. Walsh have played a significant role in preserving this
inventory from Hollywood’s golden age. Their vision and
partnership with the Boca Raton Museum of Art made this
exhibition possible.”
With Walsh and Maness agreeing to be the co-curators
of this first major exhibition of the Art of the Hollywood
Backdrop, the Museum project began to take shape. They
accepted an invitation to visit the Boca Raton Museum of FREE
Art in the fall of 2021, by Irvin Lippman, who had seen the Family Owned & Operated LOCAL DELIVERY
television segment on CBS. SERVING BOCA POINTE AND OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 2001 Free for prescription
Twenty backdrops, including the famous Mount Rushmore, • Easy Prescription Transfer • Prescriptions Filled Fast drugs only
are being loaned by the Texas Performing Arts Hollywood • All Medicare Part D Plans Accepted • Professional Compounding
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1952 backdrop for Singin’ in the Rain and the tapestry backdrop Prescription Drugs Accepted Supplies SPECIAL ORDERS WELCOME
for Marie Antoinette (1938) are on loan from the Motion Including United Healthcare • Nebulizers & Supplies
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his brilliant comic performance of Make’ Em Laugh in front
of the backdrop from Singin’ in the Rain. The 1938 tapestry 561-391-6336
backdrop interestingly was reused in the North by Northwest
(1959) auction house scene, a relatively common practice in 22191 Powerline Road • Boca Raton
the film and television industry of the time. SW Corner of Palmetto & Powerline • Mon-Fri 9am to 6pm • Sat 9am to 3pm • Closed Sun
“This is the grandaddy, the Babe Ruth of all Hollywood BocaPharmacy.com
backdrops,” said Karen L. Maness, referring to the scenic