A veteran of Golden Age Hollywood art direction, Ben Carré was born in Paris in 1883. Carré dropped out of school at age 12 for experience at Amable Theatre, before entering film through the historic Gaumont Studios.
In the 1910s, Carré moved to America, creating the underground sequences for PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) and working on THE JAZZ SINGER (1927) and POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL (1936). He was also a founding member of AMPAS.
One of Carré’s most historic backdrops was the Capitol Dome in MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939), a symbol of patriotic dignity that Jimmy Stewart gestures towards (and wasn’t actually there). He also contributed backgrounds for THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939).
Carré continued painting iconic scenes like the Seine in AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951) and Mount Rushmore in NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) before retiring in 1965, aged 82, to paint for his own pleasure.
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