Popcorn Palaces: The Art Deco Movie Theater Paintings of Davis Cone

by Michael Kinerk, Dennis Wilhelm

"Davis Cone's extraordinarily realistic paintings of old movie theatres . . . [produce] a sharp ache of recognition of a kind of innocence that is somehow irretrievably lost. Or perhaps, because Mr. Cone's work represents these images of Americana so accuratelyóand with such a subtly elegiac quality-the emotion we feel is as of a distant memory suddenly recaptured." -Peter Bogdanovich For more than two decades, in his widely collected paintings of America's old movie theatres, Realist artist Davis Cone has been preserving cherished memories from an era gone by. Cone's brilliantly precise paintings of the glittering Art Deco fantasy palaces that once lent magic to main streets across the nation recall the thrill of going to the movies in the days before malls and multiplexes. The text not only reveals much about Cone the artist but also covers the history and architecture of the theatres themselves. Sadly, many of the theatres painted by Cone no longer exist. But the spirit of all Popcorn Palaces remains alive in this evocative and nostalgic book.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2001

Reviews

[Susan Akers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous realist paintings of movie houses, along with their varied histories.