Several years ago there was an inquiry about a monochromatic tapestry—actually it turned out to be a lovely copy (about 1:1) of some European tapestry. Only through help from colleagues here on the Textile Conservation Discussion list were we able to trace it’s probably origin: a movie studio’s set designers at the time of the black & white film, perhaps as early as the 1920’s.

There is now an entire exhibition of such set-designer trompe l’oeil in Boca Raton Florida at the Boca Raton Museum of Art through January 23, 2023 entitled “Art of the Hollywood Backdrop: Cinema’s Creative Legacy.” Here’s a review of the exhibition in case you don’t get a chance to visit. ‘Art of the Hollywood Backdrop: Cinema’s Creative Legacy’ Review: Movie Backgrounds in the Foreground - WSJ ( https://www.wsj.com/articles/art-of-the-hollywood-backdrop-cinemas-creative-legacy-boca-raton-museum-of-art-backdrop-recovery-project-thomas-a-walsh-j-c-backings-karen-l-maness-richard-m-isackes-university-of-texas-ben-hur-singin-in-the-rain-the-sound-of-music-north-by-northwest-george-gibson-marie-antoinette-young-bess-11654118994?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1 ).

Mary