Davis Cone is a superb photo realist who has made a successful career of painting portraits of Art Deco theatres. This early book of his paintings is a companion to the more recent volume entitled "Popcorn Palaces". Required reading for cinema-buffs and Art Deco enthusiasts.
Stunning!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
Starting with the bottom line -- do whatever you have to do to get your hands on a copy of this book!I am not an art afficianado, my passion is movie theaters - the old ones - the buildings of nostalgia, passion, glamour, elegance. It was for these images that I ordered an out of print copy of "Hollywood on Main Street". His subject is not the big, opulent palaces of major cities. He concentrates on the small town palace -- the neighborhood theater -- or "the nabes" as we call them. Even the most modest picture house projects such excitement and glamour when situated in a small community.The first glance through Davis Cone's book brought a smile and a sigh, then a gasp, from the realization that these were not photographs! Cone's stunningly realistic paintings are virtually indistinguishable from photographs. The detail in each painting is astounding - an unexpired parking meter, venetian blinds in a window slightly skewed, perfectly placed shadows, the reflection of rain on a dark street, the blurr of a passing automobile. Each photo/painting yields thousands of minute details. Half the fun of this book in is finding these gems.To repeat: Do whatever you have to do to get a copy of this book. Get the book for your theater collection, but also get the book for an appreciation of Cone's immense talent. All the passion and excitement and glamour of the small town movie theater shines through in each of his works.
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