Paul Detlefsen

Paul Detlefsen (October 3, 1899 - August 1, 1986) was a commercial artist of the mid to late 20th century, associated once the "Hollywood scene". He is known for his practicable depictions of serene, nostalgic scenes; his works were reproduced in a popular lineage of calendars and new prints.

Paul Detlefsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the son of a medical doctor.^{[citation needed]} He studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before moving to Hollywood to construct his reputation as a cartoonist.^{[citation needed]} After not succeeding as an animator,^{[citation needed]} he produced backdrops for films. He was nominated at the 17th Academy Awards, along later than coworkers John Crouse and Nathan Levinson, for their work upon the 1944 film The Adventures of Mark Twain. The only additional films Detlefsen is credited for are The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945), Escape in the Desert (1945), and Shadow of a Woman (1946), but he spent 20 years at Warner Brothers Studios, eventually rising to behave charge of the art department that created matte backdrops.

Detlefsen after that shifted to a career in encyclopedia artwork. His art was lithographed into calendars, reproductions, playing cards, jigsaw puzzles, mats for tables, and even four-foot broad wall murals. His first calendar, published in 1951, was "The fine Old Days", which focused on landscape art. In 1969, UPI estimated that 80% of whatever Americans had seen his work.

In 1964, Paul and his wife, Shelly,^{[citation needed]} moved to Encinitas, California where Paul continued painting^{[citation needed]} into the last few months of his life.