Van Nest Polglase (August 25, 1898 – December 20, 1968) was an American

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

. He was nominated for six

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

in the category Best Art Direction. Best remembered as head of the design department at

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

, he worked on 333 films between 1925 and 1957. He was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. His death notice noted that he was "survived by his son Dr. Van Nest Polglase and 2 grandchildren", his wife, Helen, having predeceased him six months earlier.

Education and early career

Polglase studied

Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpo ...

and interior design in New York City where he entered practice with the architectural firm of Berg and Orchard, before moving to Havana in 1917 where he was an associate designer on the Presidential Palace.Donald Albrecht "The Art of RKO. Van Nest Polglase And The Modern Movie Set: A Pioneer Who Changed The Cinematic Landscape" ''Architectural Digest'' June 2009 http://www.architecturaldigest.com/resources/notebook/2009/07/vintage_set_design_article Ray Banks (comp.) ''WWI Civilian Draft Registrations'' atabase on-lineAncestry.com crediting original data: United States, Selective Service System. ''Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.'' Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1987-1988. Microfilm Publications: M1509. On his return to New York City in 1919, he signed with

Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and ...

(later reorganised as Paramount) whose art director

Wiard Ihnen Wiard Boppo "Bill" Ihnen (August 5, 1897Note: His obituary in the ''Los Angeles Times'' suggests he was born in approximately 1888. – June 22, 1979) was an American art director. He was active from 1919 to 1960 and won Academy Awards for ...

had recommended him as a draftsman. When Polglase decided to focus on design, he moved to Hollywood, where he designed one of the first American Art Déco sets for ''

The Magnificent Flirt ''The Magnificent Flirt'' is a lost 1928 American comedy silent film directed by Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast and written by José Germain Drouilly, Herman J. Mankiewicz, Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast and Jean de Limur. The film stars Florence Vidor, ...

'' (1928). He worked for MGM until 1932, when he was recruited to RKO by

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. ...

Selected filmography

Polglase was nominated for six Academy Awards for Best Art Direction: * ''

The Gay Divorcee ''The Gay Divorcee'' is a 1934 American musical film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It also features Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, and Erik Rhodes. The screenplay was written by ...

'' (1934) * ''

Top Hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditional ...

'' (1935) * '' Carefree'' (1938) * '' Love Affair'' (1939) * ''

My Favorite Wife ''My Favorite Wife'' (released in the U.K. as ''My Favourite Wife'') is a 1940 screwball comedy produced by Leo McCarey and directed by Garson Kanin. The picture stars Irene Dunne as a woman who, after being shipwrecked on a tropical island for ...

'' (1940) * ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...

'' (1941)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Polglase, Van Nest 1898 births 1968 deaths American art directors People from Brooklyn American production designers

Education and early career

Selected filmography

See also

References

External links