--- title: Photos: Reconsidering Classic Hollywood Backdrops at Art description: A new book shows how the often-maligned Hollywood backdrop is an art form worthy of reconsideration canonical: https://time.com/4509764/photos-hollywood-backdrop/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-01T16:00:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:59:27.675Z article:section: History og:title: Photos: Reconsidering Classic Hollywood Backdrops at Art og:description: A new book shows how the often-maligned Hollywood backdrop is an art form worthy of reconsideration og:url: https://time.com/4509764/photos-hollywood-backdrop/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e2217d967049d33/6988a7b62dce0125b79eacea/hollywood-backdrop-art-02.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: The Sound of Music 1965 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Photos: Reconsidering Classic Hollywood Backdrops at Art twitter:description: A new book shows how the often-maligned Hollywood backdrop is an art form worthy of reconsideration twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e2217d967049d33/6988a7b62dce0125b79eacea/hollywood-backdrop-art-02.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These Painted Backdrops Brought Life to Classic Hollywood Scenes by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Nov 1, 2016 4:00 PM UTC  Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews sit in a grove surrounded by a romantic backdrop in a scene from Twentieth Century-Fox’s The Sound of Music (1965), directed by Robert Wise, with production design by Boris Leven. The backdrop was painted at J.C. Backings under the supervision of John H. Coakley. Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews sit in a grove surrounded by a romantic backdrop in a scene from Twentieth Century-Fox’s The Sound of Music (1965), directed by Robert Wise, with production design by Boris Leven. The backdrop was painted at J.C. Backings under the supervision of John H. Coakley.Twentieth Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Nov 1, 2016 4:00 PM UTC To jaded movie goers of a certain age, Hollywood backdrops induced eye rolls and snickers. As painted scenery rolled by outside a moving car or an eerily still vista floated behind an actor, viewers in the know might applaud themselves for seeing the backdrops for what they really were: a two-dimensional world, an optical illusion, proof of a bygone era’s artifice, a reminder on billboard scale that these scenes of the great outdoors were really shot in studios. But as the golden age of Hollywood grows more distant, it’s easier to appreciate the best of these backdrops for the works of art that they really were. In their new book [_The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/194139308X/?tag=timecom-20), Richard M. Isackes and Karen L. Maness celebrate the masterpieces that brought whimsy and gravity to epic films, from the fanciful settings in [_The Wizard of Oz_](http://time.com/4293701/11-best-original-movie-musicals/item/the-wizard-of-oz-1939/) to the spooky majesty of [_North by Northwest_](http://time.com/money/4318307/money-advice-tv-movie-moms/item/clara-thornhill-north-by-northwest-2/).  Regan Arts Some contemporary movies still rely on backdrops to pull viewers into the fantasy world of the film—for example, in recent years, _Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events_ and _Interstellar_ have used backdrops—but the photos in this book pay homage first and foremost to a bygone era when every trip to the movies was a spectacular escape, thanks in no small part to the talented artists who painted actors into another world. They may be artificial, but it’s all part of the movie magic.  A sweeping sky backing painted for Warner Bros.’ Ceiling Zero (1936), directed by Howard Hawks with art director John Hughes, and scenic art supervisor Bill McConnell. Warner Bros.—Photofest  Judy Garland on set in Munchkinland for The Wizard of Oz (1939). The illusion of the sprawling town in the background is broken in this production shot, which reveals the top of the painted backing. MGM—The Kobal Collection/Art Resource  Ben Carre working on the early stages of a backing at the MGM scenic art department in 1942. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Clark Provins (left), John Harold Coakley (center), and an unknown scenic artist (right) painting at the MGM scenic art department c. 1950. Courtesy of The Coakley Family  Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint on set in front of a painted backing for MGM’s North by Northwest (1959), directed by Alfred Hitchcock with production design by Robert F. Boyle. MGM—Photofest  Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews sit in a grove surrounded by a romantic backdrop in a scene from Twentieth Century-Fox’s The Sound of Music (1965), directed by Robert Wise, with production design by Boris Leven. The backdrop was painted at J.C. Backings under the supervision of John H. Coakley. 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